Ecc 2 Sermon Outline

Title: Meaningful life

Text: Ecclesiastes 1:1-3, 2:1-26

Intro: Have you ever tried to chase down the wind? I tried once… I was in the back of a pickup truck going down the road, I opened my mouth and the wind was filling my cheeks and just when I thought I had caught the wind a bug flew into my mouth…. Try chasing the wind! You will never catch it, each time you grasp at it you find it slips through your fingers.

Author – Solomon – Who he was and what he accomplished

1:4-11 Gives you the jest of this book…. Life comes Life goes. The earth never fills up as long as it is.

CPS: Life is empty and futile apart from God.

Don’t chase after the things of this world you will only find emptiness in Pleasure. 2:1-3

I will test my heart as to if I can find exceeding joy in pleasure, Solomon tried the “good things in life” yet he found these things to be meaningless and empty. Pleasure –

Moral

He tried laughter – Laughter is good for the soul, right? Who doesn’t like a good laugh? Scientific studies has indicated laughter can decrease stress and increase one’s immunity. Laughter releases endorphins (The body’s feel-good chemical) and studies show laughter can temporarily relieve pain… There is great benefit in a laughter… so why not laugh? Solomon learned, that laughter could not bring fulfillment to his soul. Vanity!

Immoral

Solomon turned to wine, he sought fulfillment in the pleasure that many men sought, the stimulating of his mind. Note… not drunkenness, I didn’t indulge as to not kept my wits about me (my worldly wisdom). Yet, after much searching, he saw it as foolishness. He concluded it was vanity.

Solomon sought meaning and fulfillment in Sexual pleasure. Verse 8 says he had many Beautiful concubines. If there ever was a man who indulged in sexual activity it was Solomon. It is believed that Solomon at 700 wives and 300 concubines, it is believed that he had many sexual encounters with foreign women not of his Harem… Sex seems to be the climax of worldly pleasure, but even in a thousand women he couldn’t find what he was looking for.

Illustration: (Daryle Singletary) Too much fun, what's that mean? No matter what they say, I've doneBut I ain't never had too much fun. FALLACY!

Solomon tried every pleasure under the Sun. Vs. 10… whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy.

Solomon found disappointment in pleasure. Not only illicit pleasures disappointed him but even morally acceptable activities left him empty.

Application: Don’t seek fulfillment in the things of this world. They are only going to disappoint you and leave you feeling empty. You will never find fulfillment and meaning in pleasure. Its like chasing the wind… you can grab for it but it slips through your fingers.

Don’t chase after the things of this world you will only find emptiness in Possessions. 2:4-11

Who doesn’t like possessions, right? Homes, Vehicles, Boats, Money… What’s not to like! Solomon turns to collecting possessions as a way to find fulfillment in life. Solomon had possession like no other on earth at his time. He lived in the lap of Luxury.

Houses – many houses – Palace beside the Temple (twenty years to build)

Vineyards and reservoirs (sz of a football field) to water his personal gardens (Personal Paradise).

Slaves. Men and Women

Wealth.

Solomon controlled the trade routes by land to the west and the south in the middle east. He controlled the Caravan Commerce and dominated the Horse trade. Solomon dominated the trade in Arabia of rare spices and exotic textiles. He acquired large sums of Camels, Spices, Gold, Silver, and Precious Stones. It is estimated that Solomon had a net worth of $2 Trillion today.

Luke 12:18-20

Application: Solomon was greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before him and since him, but do you know what it found in his vast possessions? it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind… you can grab for it but it will slip through your fingers.

Don’t chase after the things of this world you will only find emptiness in Human Wisdom. 2:12-17

Solomon sought wisdom (worldly wisdom) “Knowledge” “good sense in managing affairs” as a source of fulfillment. 1:13 I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven. He accomplished being the most wise. He was highly educated in things of the world, the Science of the times, and History. You could say Solomon had a double PHD. Yet as he compared himself to the fool, he saw that both have the same destiny. Death.

Illustration: Here’s a man that goes off to school: He studies and studies and studies and studies and studies. He gets a PhD. He learns all of these things. Here’s another guy: He couldn’t care less. He doesn’t do anything. And they both somehow get through life. They die. They go to the ground, and they are both gone. Solomon said, “Wait! What happened to all this knowledge? Down into the dirt—it’s gone, gone, gone!”

Application: I have spent the past six years working my tale off in higher education and I’m devoted to it and I can spend another ten years seeking the highest levels but if I’m looking for meaningful fulfillment in life, I won’t find it here. Don’t look to the things of this world for fulfillment and meaning in this life, you will never find it. It’s like chasing after the wind… you grab for it and it slips through your finger.

Don’t chase after the things of this world you will only find emptiness in Work. 2:18-26

Solomon turns to his work and the fruit of his labor. The things he has done as king to Israel, the labor of organizing trade, building projects all things he did that allowed him to collect riches and possessions. He came to the conclusion that he hated his labor. It too didn’t bring fulfillment.

Illustration: Hope says, I’m a workaholic. I dedicate my all to all that I do. In my current industry I have achieved much success not because I’m so good at what I do, but because I am devoted and work hard. Until Covid-19 came I traveled 9 states, spending 50-60 hours a week working. I preached here at EBC and spent hours in study for sermon preparation. I am attending school, taking 5 classes this semester, and if I was looking for fulfillment my labor I would come to the same conclusion as Solomon, its empty.

Solomon says of his labor, all the benefit of my hard labor, someone else will get to enjoy. Everything he earned he will leave to someone else because the fate of everyman is death.

Application: Don’t search for fulfillment in the things of this world you will never find it, its like chasing after the wind, you grab for it and it slips through your fingers.

Conclusion: Solomon tried to satisfy the human heart with things that cannot bring lasting enjoyment. You will never find fulfillment in the things of this world, Solomon says in doing so, is like chasing the wind, you can never catch it. There is no fulfillment in life apart from God.

The godly Solomon had satisfaction in his riches and wisdom, when God gave them (2 Ch 1:11, 12). The backsliding Solomon had no happiness when he sought it in them apart from God