The major duty of man
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THE MAJOR DUTY OF MAN or a LIFE WITHOUT MEANING
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
(ESV)
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
YOU CAN KNOW THE MAJOR DUTIES OF MAN BY payING attention to THE advice OF SOLOMON IN VS 13
Intro
Intro
Condolences to the Family
Life is so short, so unpredicatable
it causes us to ask what is the purpose of my life
Hurray for a child
That makes it through
If there's any way
Because the answer lies in you
They're laid to rest
Before they've known just what to do
Their souls are lost
Because they could never find
What's this life for
You ever asked yourself that question?
What on earth is this life for?
Everyone of us has wrestled with this question
If you ask a million different ppl the qus
Some college students were asked to give a definition of life. Here are some that won honorable mention:
"Life is a joke that isn't even funny."
"Life is a jail sentence that we get for the crime of being born."
"Life is a disease for which the only cure is death."
That sounds cynical, doesn't it? And, I'm afraid many college students are just like that. But, life is empty. Life is vain apart from God. Now, I'm going to tell you a secret. God engineered it that way.
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Now, the Book of Ecclesiastes is the journal of King Solomon. Now, King Solomon had everything. I mean, you talk about a man that had everything! Listen, folks. He had it all: He had power; he had popularity; he had prosperity; he had prestige; he had pleasure—anything his heart could desire. He had it all; and yet, it was a washout for him. He learned how to have a living, but not a life. He was drawing his breath and dying at the same time. And, I think that, if he'd been living today, somebody might say to him, "Hey, man, get a life!"
The Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection - The Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection – Sermons.2 major duties
1. Fear God
2. Keep his commands
In simple terms apart from God – life is meaningless
God has wired us that way
Augustine said, “You created us for Yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.”
1. Apart from God, Wisdom is Meaningless
1. Apart from God, Wisdom is Meaningless
The more a man learns, the more he realizes he doesn't understand. Bertrand Russell said, "Philosophy proved a washout for me." You see, apart from God, God has engineered that your life is going to be meaningless.
16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;
the days have already come when both have been forgotten.
Like the fool, the wise too must die!
).
Here's a man that goes off to school: He studies, and studies, and studies, and studies, and studies; he gets a Ph.D.; he learns all of these things; he walks this way; his eyes are in his head. Here's another guy: He could care less; he doesn't do anything. And, they both somehow get through life. They die. They go to the ground, and they're both gone. Solomon said, "Wait, what happened to all this knowledge?" Down into the dirt—it's gone, gone, gone.
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SO VERY WISE IN THER OWN EYES
on the beach. And, we made a sand alligator—incredibly beautiful, about eight-feet-long. And, we crafted that out of sand, and we worked on it all morning long. It was great. We just could hardly wait for people walking down the beach to come and see our alligator. We went off to do something and came back—do you know what had happened? The sand was perfectly smooth. The water had come up and taken our sand alligator away, and it's like it never had been there. That's what Solomon is saying. "Listen," he is saying, "apart from God, wisdom is meaningless."
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Get educated but also be educated in the Word as well
One will help you in this world, the other will be help with your soul
2. Apart from God, Wealth is Meaningless
2. Apart from God, Wealth is Meaningless
He's saying, "Apart from God, wealth is meaningless." Look in 6:1, 2: "There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease" ().
Remember when you were young? You couldn't afford anything but beans and rice, but you had a cast iron stomach. And now, you can eat prime rib, but the doctor won't let you. Isn't that amazing?
That's what Solomon is saying. And so, somebody eats the things that you have worked for. He's saying, "Apart from God, wisdom is meaningless. Apart from God, wealth is meaningless."
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We spend all our waking hours today trying to get rich
Look at what is happening in Trinidad
So much crime
R and J Cell Tech
Little Kid in Arima being killed
All because of this desire to be richer than others.
Don't pursue the Almighty dollar but pursue of the Almighty Father
3. Apart from God, Work is Meaningless
3. Apart from God, Work is Meaningless
"Apart from God, work is meaningless." Look in 9:11: "I returned, and saw under the sun"—and saw under the sun—"that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all" ().
You would think that, if a man is wise; if he works hard; if he does so, and so, and so, and so, that he's going to be wealthy. And, if a man isn't, he's not going to be wealthy. But, Solomon said, "Don't forget time and chance."
There are so many unpredictable things that could determine what benefit you get in the job
You could amass a fortune and then someone can kidnap you and it all over
You work so much in life that you kill out yourself and other people get to enjoy all that your hard earned money bought
What he is saying is, "You're not going to figure it out." Apart from God, wisdom is meaningless. Apart from God, wealth is meaningless. Apart from God, work is meaningless. You will not get it figured out. Those, my friends, are the complex mysteries of life.
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There was a preacher in Texas, Joe Henry Hankins. Joe Henry Hankins preached and the wife of a very successful businessman came to faith in Christ. Hankins thought he would go and visit the businessman. So he went by, and said, "Your wife is, has been saved. She's going to be baptized Sunday night. I'd like to baptize the two of you together. I want you to give your heart to Christ." The businessman put him off a little bit, but the preacher began to press, and say, "No, sir, you need to be saved."
After, there was this encounter that, many times, soul winners have. The businessman said, "Preacher, I'll tell you what. It's Saturday. Tomorrow morning I'll come to church. You give the invitation. I'll be the first one down that aisle. I will accept Christ as my personal Savior. And that night, when my wife is baptized, I'll be baptized with her." The preacher said, "Great, wonderful," and he started out, put his hand on the doorknob, and said, "No, wait a minute. Something's wrong here, something's wrong."
He turned around and he went back to that man, whose name was Pat, and he said, "Pat, listen. If you're going to do it tomorrow morning, why not now? Why don't you just pray now and give your heart to Jesus and come and make it public tomorrow morning?" The businessman said, "Look, preacher. I'm a man of my word. If I say I'm going to do it tomorrow, I'm going to do it tomorrow morning. You can bank on it." The preacher said, "Well, all right."
He started again the second time, got his hand on the doorknob, and he knew something was not right. He took out his New Testament and opened it up to the Scripture that said, "Behold, now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation." He said, "Pat, this is what God said. The devil says tomorrow, God says today. Has there ever a man anywhere ever done wrong by doing what God says, and has a man ever anywhere done, right by doing what Satan says?" The man was taken back a little bit. He said, "Preacher." The preacher put the Scripture in his hand, and said, "You read it. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." The man slammed his hand into his fist and he said, "Preacher, you're right.
The devil has never done anything good for me but lie to me. This is what God says. I'm going to do it now." And they slipped down on their knees and Pat prayed and gave his heart to Jesus Christ. Hankins left that house.
When he was having breakfast in the morning, the phone rang. It was Pat's nephew. He said, "Preacher, I need to call you. They wanted me to call. Pat wanted me to call you. He's had a, he's had a heart attack. He says he's not coming to church this morning, but he wanted you to know that he's not failing to keep his word. He's just had a little heart attack. We think he'll be better." They had the service that morning.
When Hankins was having lunch that Sunday, the phone rang again. This time it was a sister-in-law. She said, "Preacher, you need to know that he's had another heart attack, this one very serious." Then before Hankins could get up and go to the hospital to visit, the phone rang the third time. They said, "You don't need to come right away. He's gone. He's dead. But, preacher, Pat said to be sure to tell you that he was so glad you encouraged him to give his heart to Jesus Christ last night." So glad. Friend, the Bible says, "Boast not thyself of tomorrow; thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."
And every box that you see, every casket that you see, and every funeral that you see reminds you today is the day of salvation. Give your heart to Jesus and you can smile at death.
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What is life all about? Jesus said, "I've come that you might have life, and that you might have it abundantly" (). And, apart from Him, friend, it is vanity of vanities—apart from Jesus.
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Have you given your life to Jesus today?
Is Jesus at the center of your job, your wealth your wisdom