The search for meaning, Pt. 1
Ecclesiastes: Keep His Commands • Sermon • Submitted
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· 4 viewsmeaning and making sence of all that goes on around us cannot be found in earthly wisdom
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Ethics Professor Larry Rasmussen
Like a wrinkle in time, we find ourselves at the close of the second Christian millenium, not far from the terrain of Christians at the beginning of the first. Ours is also a “Hellenistic” era - diverse, cosmopolitan, multilingual, racial, cultural, religious, fragmented, eclectic, riddled by extremes of all kinds. A dislocated world, people then felt and people now feel isolated or off center…And those first Christians, like us, worried about moral deformation everywhere, even as they rejoiced in the coming of a new world.”
we see around us problems piling on top of problems, struggles on top of struggles
year 2020 will go down in history as a hard, tough year, for a myriad of reasons
Ecclesiastes
Solomon dealing with chaos
dealing with trying to make sense of the world around him
earthly wisdom was useless
the conclusion? chapter 12 v. 13
“fear God and keep His commandments.”
Vanity (1-2)
Vanity (1-2)
All is vanity
vapor, a breath, only lasts a moment
over 30 times in 12 chapters
vanity, all is vanity
Romans 8:20-21 “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
all is futile because it was made that way
sin destroyed more than just our relationship with God
“it’s part of a global and cosmic reality that involves the whole of created order.”
“Futility is the result of death, death is the result of sin. Sin is man’s rebellion against God.”
All is vanity because is has no eternal power, man made wisdom has no eternal power
we try to explain away ourselves, but to no avail
Galileo
“Galileo raised the doubt that what we think that we see, we might not really see at all. Colors, for example, seemed to be more in the minds of men and women than in the objects themselves.”
Also his views of the solar system
It all comes and goes (3-11)
It all comes and goes (3-11)
nothing lasts forever
worldly wisdom teaches us to look after our here and now
it looks to the self for gratification and prosperity
but as one generation passes another comes, and they will pass also
creation around us is on a cycle
the sun rises and sets
the wind blows and comes again
we cannot find our satisfaction and wisdom in creation
From Adrian Rogers: “After a tornado came through, there was a lady who lived in a house trailer perhaps a block from the church. That house trailer was absolutely devastated. in that house trailer, she had a parakeet. she had no children. she had no other pets. this parakeet was like one of her children. She loved that parakeet. and the house trailer was gone. The tornado took the whole things and took the bird - gone. She was heartbroken.
About three or four days later, somebody saw a parakeet sitting in a tree. Would you believe they coaxed that bird out of that tree and into their hand? And would you believe, by fortuitous circumstances, they found out this woman had lost this bird, and they brought the bird back? Miracle story - miracle story! Then, do you know what happened? The cat ate it. True story. The cat ate it. I mean, after all this miracle - all this good stuff - then the cat ate it. Figure that out. That’s what Solomon is saying.”
Life comes and goes
nothing new under the sun
noting really changes, the struggles with evil in the world that the early church dealt with, we are still dealing with
can’t find wisdom in the past as it soon fades
even what will be will also one day fade away
Worldly wisdom puts faith in itself
tries to answer the problems of the world with man’s own mind
yet the true problems and successes are things the world cannot solve
its bigger than we are
the reason for chaos is not what you may think
worldly wisdom takes away from the real answer
Worldly wisdom is futile (12-18)
Worldly wisdom is futile (12-18)
Solomon has sought wisdom
the pursuit of the meaning of life and trying to figure it all out is a daunting task
it is all vanity and striving after the wind
this kind of wisdom leads to only one conclusion…it is worthless
Solomon was the wisest of all men
before and even after him
he found the pursuit of this wisdom is useless
later on he shows us all that really matters is that we follow God
wisdom brings grief
knowing its all futile
knowledge brings pain
to say ignorance is bliss is true (in this case)
All this is from an earthly standpoint
Conclusion
Conclusion
The truth is…we cannot find the wisdom we need to make sense of this world, in this world
why does racism still exist?
why do we think violence is the answer?
why do we think we have evolved enough that sin is not longer sin?
Because earthly wisdom has to true answers
That is why the world says “truth does not exist” because they cannot find it without God.
Church the world around us is in chaos
but it has been since the fall
the only answer to all of this is God
what is the meaning of life?
it is not money, it is not fame, it is not family
the meaning of life is found in the creator of life
He loves us enough to create us
he loves us enough to guide us
He loves us enough to save us
He loves us enough to sustain us
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