Ecclesiastes 3-4

[Wait for my intro, then display the “dont waste your life” picture] “My father was an evangelist. In fact he still is, even though he doesn’t travel now. When I was a boy, there were rare occasions when my mother and sister and I traveled with him and heard him preach. I trembled to hear my father preach. In spite of the predictable opening humor, the whole thing struck me as absolutely blood-earnest. There was a certain squint to his eye and a tightening of his lips when the avalanche of biblical texts came to a climax in application. Oh, how he would plead! Children, teenagers, young singles, young married people, the middle-aged, old people—he would press the warnings and the wooings of Christ into the heart of each person. He had stories, so many stories, for each age group—stories of glorious conversions, and stories of horrific refusals to believe followed by tragic deaths. Seldom could those stories come without tears. For me as a boy, one of the most gripping illustrations my fiery father used was the story of a man converted in old age. The church had prayed for this man for decades. He was hard and resistant. But this time, for some reason, he showed up when my father was preaching. At the end of the service, during a hymn, to everyone’s amazement he came and took my father’s hand. They sat down together on the front pew of the church as the people were dismissed. God opened his heart to the Gospel of Christ, and he was saved from his sins and given eternal life. But that did not stop him from sobbing and saying, as the tears ran down his wrinkled face—“I’ve wasted it! I’ve wasted it!” Just like Piper, this story had a profound impact on my life. Then, and now, I desperately do not want to end up like the old man on the pew, crying about how I’ve wasted my life. The book of Ecclesiastes is Solomon’s own experience much like the old man described. It’s a solemn warning, by God through the wisest man who ever lived, regarding which things in this life are “vanity” or meaningless. Last week, Mike took us through the first two chapters of Ecclesiastes. In those chapters, we saw several examples of worldly passions and pursuits that still end up being “meaningless” or “vanity.” - Wisdom, achievement, and fortune. Even though he was writing these things close to 3,000 years ago, it’s incredible to see how his warnings are so applicable today. A ThermoSoft survey found that the average Americans’ ideal vision of being successful is when they are married with two children, and earning $147,000 from their stay-at-home job that only makes them work up to 31 hours a week and rewards them with five weeks of vacation. Most people define success as “achieving your personal goals.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. 2 This is a widely recognized passage. It’s beautifully written, very poetic... I. Contentment instead of achievement. We use the word “missional” often. Showing our community who Christ is and what He’s done through our words and actions. One of the most profound ways we can do this is through contentment. When you look at our world, we operate in the fashion of Ecclesiastes 2. Always planning ahead, working nights and weekends to save for the big vacation. You can tell this is true because one of the biggest key words in the mental health community right now is “mindfulness.” This is a foreign concept - requires us to acknowledge that God is sovereign. 9 What gain has the worker from his toil? to the children of man to be busy with. 10 I 11 He have seen the business that God has given has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man. 14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.[a] We as humans are going to be focused on the future - on “not wasting our life” - because God has put eternity into our hearts. Waiting on the Lord is not always an easy thing to do. (For both Christians and non-Christians) II. Faith instead of futility Ecclesiastes 4:1-6 4 Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. 2 And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. 3 But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun. 4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity[a] and a striving after wind. 5 The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh. 6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind. When encouraged to faithfully wait on the sovereign Lord, many non-christians (and some Christians too) find it difficult to believe that God is worth their faith, when there is so much suffering and evil in the world. They would rather choose to give up, to “fold their hands” and bring themselves to ruin. This is true of non-Christians, who choose to give up religion and chase their own happiness, and Christians, who choose to isolate themselves or give up their faith. How do you find faith instead of futility, particularly in the midst of hardship? Romans 8: 18-28 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. revealing of the sons of God. 20 For 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because[g] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,[h] for those who are called according to his purpose. 1. 2. 3. 4. God is sovereign over everything. (many Biblical examples to prove this.) God subjected creation to futility (consequences for sin) He did so to show the world how much we need Him. He provides a path to redemption and sustenance in the midst of suffering as we wait for His redemption of the world. How do we use this to be missional? We use this faith and knowledge of God to come along others in their suffering. Romans 12:12-15 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. We cannot do this unless we place our faith in God, rather than adopting a futile attitude in response to our fallen world. III. Others-focused instead of self-focused Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business. 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! keep warm alone? 11 Again, 12 And if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. We as Christians are called to not follow the world’s ideas of success and achievement, but instead to glorify God and make him known to the world around us. One of the best ways we can do that is by placing our faith in God’s sovereignty and willingly waiting on Him by realizing that there’s a time for everything, even in the midst of suffering, and that we should not isolate ourselves but instead focus on the discipleship of others. This is how we don’t waste our life. “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”