Two Are Better Than One
Ecclesiastes • Sermon • Submitted
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Introducción:
Introducción:
I’m thankful for friendship, it’s one of the biggest blessings in my life to be able to count on friends and companions along this life
Though sometimes people like to be “loners”, it’s not good for man to be alone
Anne Hathaway, the actress, said “Loneliness is my least favorite thing about life. The thing that I'm most worried about is just being alone without anybody to care for or someone who will care for me.”
There’s a jewish saying that says “A man without a companion is like a left hand without the right.”
Earlier in this passage we find a man that has dedicated himself to his work but has no one to share it with
It is the sad story of a man who has absolutely no human relationships of any type
He has no son, no brother, no one to leave his inheritance with
He works so hard and long that he doesn’t get to enjoy any part of life
Solomon tells us that this is vanity in the last part of v. 8
It is a sore travail, a rough life, a difficult thing
To find pleasure in our work, we need to ask the question in v. 8 “Who am I working for?”
Why am I working? What am I accomplishing
The christian should be seeking to work for the glory of God and the benefit of other people, especially fellow christians
Theres a story written that described a man like the man in Ecclesiastes 4
When he died at the age of fifty-one, his obituary said the cause of death was coronary thrombosis, but most people knew better. At the office six days a week, often until 8 or 9 at night, his friends and family said that he had simply worked himself to death. Yet on the day of his funeral, when the company was already making inquiries about his replacement, the president looked around the office for candidates and said, “Well, who’s been working the hardest?” But the killer line was delivered by the dead man’s wife. When a friend said, “I know how much you will miss him,” she said, “Oh, I already have.”
What Solomon teaches in this passage is a truth seen throughout all of scripture “two are better than one”
It has been this way since the beginning Genesis 2:18
18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Togetherness is better than loneliness
Connection is better than competition
Whether we are in the church, in the workplace, or at home, our work is more rewarding when we share it with someone else
We see here several reasons why two are better than one in this passage
Solomon lists three reasons that seem to be associated with travel
Falling into a pit along the way
Cold nights in the desert
Thieves in the wayside
1. A Friend Is There To Help v. 10
1. A Friend Is There To Help v. 10
The idea is that a friend or companion that travels alongside you to help when you fall
It shows that either one of them could fall “if they fall”
This means that at some point in time we will both need each other’s help in order to be lifted back up
This means that we need humility in order to accept the help when we fall and meekness to help our brother when he falls
Sometimes this happens in life, not only literally but also metaphorically. We get knocked down by life’s trials and troubles. Sometimes somebody pushes us, and sometimes we just trip over our own two feet, but either way we end up on the ground. We try something and end up failing. Relationships get broken. Financial difficulties make us feel desperate. Against our own better judgment we fall into grievous sin.
This could mean that we seek to restore a brother that has fallen in sin Galatians 6:1-2
1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
It could mean that we need to reprove a friend and warn him of an upcoming pitfall Proverbs 27:6a
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Proverbs 27:17
17 Iron sharpeneth iron; So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
In order to be able to do this it means we will have to dress ourselves in love and seek not our own
Seek to serve our brother or our sister in times of difficulty
2. A Friend Is There To Comfort v. 11
2. A Friend Is There To Comfort v. 11
This seems like an awkward thing for friends to do
Some people think that it is only referencing a married couple
But in reality this is what people did when they traveled through the desert
Imagine being in a desert alone, with no walls to protect you from the wind, no street lights to light your way
Every breeze that comes through hurts your face, you can no longer feel your toes, it’s getting late and it’s time to lie down
You have no one to talk to, no one to share body heat with, you’re just alone
The longer you sit still and curl up into a ball, the colder you seem to get
Your heart rate goes down, you start to feel every little gush of wind and the night seems like it will never end
When two people travel together they have the opportunity to lay back to back and share body heat
It’s amazing how much that helps a person
What a tragedy for someone to walk through a desert alone
When we are going through cold times in our lives, another christian friend can warm us up.
When a deacon or a pastor prays for us, a friend shares scripture with us it warms our hearts
Just having a friend there with you to sit with you, laugh with you, cry with you can mean so much
Paul was encouraged by brothers when they came to visit him Acts 28:15
15 And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.
2 Corinthians 7:6-7
6 Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus;
7 And not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more.
Jesus appointed people two by two when they traveled Luke 10:1
1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
Don’t we see that comfort when we come to church? Matthew 18:20
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
3. A Friend Is There For Protection v. 12
3. A Friend Is There For Protection v. 12
The world is full of temptation 1 John 2:16
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Satan is always prowling around like a lion to devour us 1 Peter 5:8
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
When it comes to facing these spiritual dangers, two are better than one
If we live close with other believers, there is always someone to stand with us in the fight and to cover us with the protection of prayer
It’s interesting that when we know there is an attacker close, we become very defensive
We become aware and worried for our friends
We pay any price to protect our friends
We need help, we can’t do it alone
Doing it alone is vanity and sore travail
If two are good, three are better
There is strength in numbers
The more the merrier
Many times progress is measured by increasing independence; in this realm spiritual stature is measure by growing interdependence
We were never designed to live alone
We all depend on friendships and partnerships
Sooner or later we all need someone to reheat us with the gospel or pick us back up when we have fallen, or help us fight a spiritual battle
4. Jesus Is The Greatest Of Friends
4. Jesus Is The Greatest Of Friends
If there’s someone we can learn from, it’s Jesus
If there’s someone who’s friendship we can enjoy, it’s Jesus
He’s the one that calls his disciples his friends John 15:15
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
He has laid down his life for his friends John 15:13
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
He’s the one that restores our soul Psalm 23:3
3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
He’s the one that comforts us and gives us rest Matthew 11:28
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
He’s the one that goes before us into battle and defends us Psalm 46:7
7 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
He will never leave us nor forsake us Hebrews 13:5b
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Nothing can separate us from his love Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Sadly, all human relationships will fail us at some point or another
There will be times when we feel alone and abandoned
The phone won’t ring, you won’t get emails, no one will text or even like your pictures on facebook
But if He is the center of my life and the closest friend I have, I will never be alone
The most rewarding thing we can do is to work closely to Him