Power is Futile ...Or is it?

Good Morning

—Thanks to Tim.

—I did not know the song… I also Never Watched forest Gump…

I attributed this to what TIM referenced last week in Ecclesiastes chapter 9, as my YOUTH and PRIME of LIFE…

But then of course, he dug in with that cattle prod, to remind us that these things too, are fleeting…

—Driving down the Highway…

—Advance Article.

But what if we DO go there soon…?

What if our plans don’t turn out the way WE plan…?

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What if Tomorrow, Our Country becomes the home of bitter war…

Or our own leaders conspire against the people…

Or What if this Church were to become the target of Angry Protestesters and violent men…

What if the Decades of Ministry of Prayer, and of faithful service seemed sharply threatened by the Spirit of this age…

Or what if tomorrow, your investements are gone?

Or tragedy were to strike your own family…?

What if the feared diagnosis turns out to be true…?

What if you are Hurt by those who should have protected you…?

Abandoned by those who should have stayed?

What if tomorrow, your job is gone…

Or your spouse walks out…

Or the Grave, comes Calling…?

The book of Ecclesiastes, which we have been inviting the Holy Spirit to shape us through this Summer, very frankly acknowledges that LIFE BENEATH THE SUN is FULL of HARDSHIP…

Of Hellish detours…

Of Disease, Darkness, and Death…

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And YET!

Chapter 2 Ends with these words:

Ecclesiastes 2:24 (CSB)

24 There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,

And again, In last weeks text, chapter 3:12

Ecclesiastes 3:12–13 (CSB)

12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life. 13 It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts.

And Our text This Morning; Chapters 4 &5 Will Also Come to that same Instructive Refrain this Morning....:

live life to the fullest…!

Enjoy the Good Gifts of God!

And —rather implied up until now, but far more explicit In the text today— Rest in the Sovereignty of God…

Meaningful life in a Futile World Means TRUST… Resting in the Sovereignty of God…

But Really?

Really?

Is that really How to Live a MEANINGFUL LIFE!

How can we rest in ANYTHING, while people are DYING?

While Sickness is REIGNING?

While LOSS is EVERYWERE?

When Time is Fleeting?

And living seems Futile and Pointless?

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REST!?

Isn’t that Naive!?

We all know that if something is BROKEN, what do we need to do!?

Fix It!

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---Ecc. 4 and 5 really are A Message to this kind of Skeptic

And I don’t just mean the secular skeptic… But to the Christian Skeptic as well.

To people like Me…

And To people like you…

Because as Tim alluded to last week again, there are times when YOU and I can find it HARD to TRUST....

HARD to REST….

and Far to easy to QUESTION… God’s Sovereignty, His goodness, and His Plan…

Is LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST… REALLY SUMMED UP IN: RESTING IN GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY… And ENJOYING HIS GOOD GIFTS…?

OR… Can we DO BETTER than that!?

Despite the Curse of FUTILITY brought into the world through Sin way back in the PERFECT Garden of Eden…

Can’t we somehow, through Human Invention, POWER and Ingenuity, Create… or RECREATE an EDENIC Existence…?

Let’s Pray…

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word… Please use it this morning to speak powerfully to us, your servants.

May it Shape us, increasingly into your image.

May Cause us to follow you more passionately and more joyfully than we have the day before.

Be honoured in our hearing your word this morning.

We pray this in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Text

God has stated, and the Teacher of Ecclesiastes understands, that the world is subjected to FUTILITY because of Sin…

But the SKEPTIC questions if this is really true…

The Teacher of Ecclesiastes addresses 3 objections from the Skeptic :

Each one of these Objections appeals in some way to HUMAN POWER, to RIGHT all that is WRONG in the world… To FIX the BROKENNESS…

But Guess what the TEACHER is going to Teach us about our POWER…

Can you Guess!? He says that Power is:

That’s Right:

Power is Futile

POWER IS FUTILE….

The FIRST objection of the Skeptic is this:

Good Governance will Save the Day!

The Right LEADER, POLITICIAN, GOVERNMENT, or JUDICIAL SYSTEM will lead us back to meaningful life…

But the Teacher is quick to squash that hope…

Back in chapter 3, the Teacher already observed that there is WICKEDNESS in the place of JUSTICE...

But He goes on now in chapter 4:

Ecclesiastes 4:1 (CSB)

1 Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them.

For almost all of human history, the OPPRESSED in society have looked to or LONGED FOR Good GOVERNMENT, to free them from their oppression…

In Ancient Israel, the people TIRED of the string of INVASIONS of their land under the leadership of Judges, and they decided they wanted a KING… A KING to RULE OVER THEM like the other nations, and to KEEP THEM SAFE… ---But Even a King could not do that…

In our Day today… We find ourselves rallying behind politicians and their slogans…

Some claim they will MAKE THEIR COUNTRY GREAT AGAIN…

Others, that they will bring us forward into a time of SUNNY WAYS…

Still others tout their plan to BRING HOME POWERFUL PAYCHECKS…

—None of these things are bad!

—But NONE OF THEM,

no matter the politician,

no matter the partisan STRIPE;

NONE OF THEM, can fix the FUTILITY of the WORLD in which we LIVE!

The World is BROKEN!

Sin has ushered in a MISERABLE FUTILITY…

Death is the Certainty of ALL HUMANITY…

And there is nothing we can do to change that…

Now please, do understand, Good governance is a GOOD GIFT from the Lord… Good Governance, is a gift which allows us to enjoy many of the OTHER GIFTS, God gives. And we should SEEK IT…

As Christians we should CAREFUL ELECTORS of those who hold office…

We should even, seek to AFFECT government in godly ways…

---BUT PLEASE… DO NOT PUT YOUR HOPE IN IT…!

I can make you this PROMISE… that NO PRIME-MINISTER, NO PRESIDENT, No EARTHLY LEADER will EVER, Fix the FUTILITY of LIFE on EARTH…

While we should Actively Seek to remove the burden of the oppressed —There will always be more oppressed people in this broken world…

While we should energetically Seek to protect the powerless —There will always be more powerless victims in this broken world

And While we should Boldly seek to stand up to Deceitful and Damaging public and cultural ideologies which seek to DESTROY the CHURCH, and the FAMILY and the Devotion to God—We must recognize, there will always be another twisted ideology in this broken world to confront…

YES, in case you didn’t know it already… In the search for a meaningful life under the Sun:

Politics are Futile

They will NEVER, REVERSE the Curse of Futility.

The Teacher observes this futility, and then utters this dark assessment about life UNDER THE SUN… —Which we remember, refers to THIS PHYSICAL and TEMPORAL LIFE…

He says in vs. 2

Ecclesiastes 4:2–3 (CSB)

2 So I commended the dead, who have already died, more than the living, who are still alive. 3 But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

POLITICS won’t reverse this futility… IN FACT, they may be more likely to ADD TO IT!

POWER is FUTILE…

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My guess, is that the Teacher does not need to work to hard, to convince most of us, that POLITICS are not going to SOLVE the problem of the FUTILITY of LIFE…

But I think he finds a more Needful ear when He speaks to this second objection:

Human ingenuity will make the world a better place…

But the Teacher does not only say that:

Productivity is Futile

He goes even FURTHER to state that our attempts at productivity, are actually rooted in a desire to PROMOTE OURSELVES, over our fellow man…

It’s a PULLING OURSELVES to the TOP, at the expense of pushing our neighbour DOWN…

Look at Verse 4… This is a description of LIFE UNDER THE SUN, under the CURSE and FUTILITY of SIN… The Teacher says:

Ecclesiastes 4:4 (CSB)

4 I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to one person’s jealousy of another. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

This Verse makes a Judgement statement about the NATURE of the HUMAN HEART…

It says that the natural state of the fallen human heart is one of JEALOUSY… of ENVY… Of RIVALRY…and Competition…

Now Let me ask you a question for a moment… Let’s be honest and have some fun…:

Who here, will admit to being a COMPETITIVE PERSON!?

I’ll Admit to being Competitive…

I also married someone who is Competitive… —Trust me, that can get interesting sometimes!

Who here will admit that:

They hate to Lose!?

Has anyone ever ended up in a physical fight because someone was cheating? —I have brothers!

When you are at a sporting event, Who will Admit to having yelled at the referee… or official… or Umpire of the sport you are playing or watching or playing…?

How many of you yell at the TV when watching sports!?

We Laugh, because we understand! We’ve been there! And deep down in the Human heart, there is a PROPENSITY toward COMPETITION!

It may not always present itself LOUDLY… Or RUDELY…

But the basic nature of the fallen Human heart is to try and GET AHEAD of our neighbour…

Not just in GAMES and in SPORTS mind you… but in POSSESSIONS… in POSITION… in POPULARITY… and in PRAISE…

We want to HAVE WHAT OUR NEIGHBOUR HAS… And then get something even BETTER!!

The Old Addage says: How much money is enough? And the answer, is; Just a little bit more…

But a more truthful answer may be:

Just a little bit MORE than my brother…

or than my Neighbour…

Or than my coworker…

You see, our PRODUCTIVITY on earth, is really not Productive AT ALL! It’s not CHANGING ANYTHING!

It’s a Continuous HAMSTER WHEEL… A TREADMILL to NO WHERE!

We WORK AND WORK to Achieve What!??

Some people work, simply to achieve leisure… but the Teacher says in Vs.5

Ecclesiastes 4:5 (CSB)

5 The fool folds his arms

and consumes his own flesh.

While others, will work and work but never know Rest… And so he says in vs. 6

Ecclesiastes 4:6 (CSB)

6 Better one handful with rest

than two handfuls with effort and a pursuit of the wind.

Yet so many PURSUE MORE, MORE, MORE! They’ll NEVER HAVE ENOUGH!

Why!?

Because we think that our STRIVINGS are for something We can NEVER FULFILL through their WORK…

We want to END the FUTILITY of the MEANINGLESSNESS of LIFE UNDER THE SUN…

But WORK, and PRODUCTIVITY… No matter HOW SUCCESSFUL, will never bring ULTIMATE MEANING to life…

This too, the TEACHER says, is futile…

The POWER of PRODUCTIVITY, is Futile…

So the POWER of POLITICS are Futile…

the POWER of PRODUCTIVITY is Futile…

and Finally the Teacher is going to turn 1 last objection…

The Objection of a COMMON UNITY…

And I LIKE THIS OBJECTION!

And I LIKE THIS OBJECTION! It says

“if we could just harness the power of human relationships, and exchange RIVALRY for UNITY, THEN, THEN we could make the world a better place.... RIGHT!??”

Do you think the Teacher will like that plan?

Nope…! He says:

Partnership is Futile

Look at vs. 9… If you’ve been to a few weddings, you are BOUND to have heard these verses before… —And I’m guessing most Bride and Grooms didn’t know or think of the Context of these verses when they chose them…

It says this:

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 (CSB)

9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. 10 For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? 12 And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

Stop there for a Second… CLEARLY, Even Teacher sees that there is STRENGTH in PARTNERSHIP!

There is STRENGTH in WORKING TOGETHER…

There is Even SAFETY, PRESERVATION and PROTECTION in Companionship… —That’s not Denied at all…

Let’s keep reading… vs. 13…

Ecclesiastes 4:13 (CSB)

13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer pays attention to warnings.

Again, The Teacher is showing us the Value of Partnership… of Combined WISDOM and ACCOUNTABILITY..

But read on:

Ecclesiastes 4:14–16 (CSB)

14 For he came from prison to be king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom. 15 I saw all the living, who move about under the sun, follow a second youth who succeeds him. 16 There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

This Young King, once Commanded the POWER of a MULTITUDE of SUPPORTERS BEHIND HIM…

But that Partnership did not last.... And one day, he would become like the old King before Him, who at the end of His reign was alone… and despised…

Partnership is FUTILE! It’s FICKLE! Like time, it can be FLEETING!

I think of the Meeting of the BIG 3, near the end of WWII…

In the 1st week of February, 1945, the Heads of the united states, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union met together at Yalta in Crimea...

This Partnership of the ALLIES, was going to Usher in a new season of LASTING PEACE into the world… Together they worked to chart what Post-War Europe would look like…

Churchill and Roosevelt left, excited for the peaceful future they envisioned for the world…

But a mere 6 weeks later, the American Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Averell Harriman, would send a message to Roosevelt saying:

"we must come clearly to realize that the Soviet program is the establishment of totalitarianism, ending personal liberty and democracy as we know it". Two days later, Roosevelt began to admit that his view of Stalin had been excessively optimistic and that "Averell is right."

The Partnership imploded…

The Cold War Era Began…

And the peace of Europe, has truly never been achieved the way it was thought it would…

Now you and I may not be World leaders… But we too have seen partnerships go Awry…

We’ve had FRIENDS let us down…

Maybe even PARENTS or SPOUSES, who have deeply HURT US…

And if we dare to be MORE HONEST…

We have HURT OUR FRIENDS… OUR FAMILIES… and other PARTNERS in life…

The POWER OF PARTNERSHIP, just like POLITICS and PRODUCTIVITY, IS REAL…

But just like them, it is Imperfect…

None of these powers, can Save us from the FUTILITY of LIFE UNDER THE SUN…

YES:

Power is Futile

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Or is it?

In Chapter 4, The Teacher has spent time addressing the things which our FINITE MINDS, naturally spend SO MUCH TIME, focusing…

How can we use OUR POWER… Our ORGANIZATION, our EFFORTS, and OUR PARTNERSHIPS, to CHANGE the WORLD!?

How can we somehow ESCAPE from the FUTILITY that we all FEEL about life under the Sun…?

How can we find MEANING, in a life and world marked by the futility of DEATH… ?

The Answer?

OUR OWN POWER, is FUTILE to find MEANING in this world under the Sun…

---BUT… There is a FAR GREATER POWER!

A MEANINGFUL POWER… Which brings ORDER and MEANING and PURPOSE to this world around us…

And it is in THIS POWER, that we must reverentially, Trust..

Ecc. chapter 5:1…

Ecclesiastes 5:1–2 (CSB)

1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to approach in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, for they ignorantly do wrong.

2 Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

Here is the Teachers Point:

Remember Who is God

God is HIGH ABOVE US!

He is the CREATOR! He is the SUSTAINER of EVERY LIVING THING… The KEEPER of the ENTIRE COSMOS!

When we as mere humans look to POLITICS… or to our OWN PRODUCTIONS, or even to our STRENGTH in NUMBERS, or ANYTHING ELSE as a POWER to try and CHANGE what only GOD can change,

--Then what we have done, is returned with ADAM and EVE to trying to PUT OURSELVES in the place of God…

FRIENDS THIS, above ALL THINGS, is a futile endeavour…!

And yet we do this!!

We BUSY OURSELVES SO MUCH with GOD-LIKE activity and WORRY, that when we come BEFORE HIM, we come, not as HIS humble CREATION seeking to RECEIVE the BLESSING he wants to GIVE us through His Presence…

But rather we come with an ARROGANT AGENDA of WHAT GOD MUST DO, to ACHIEVE what WE WANT, in the world…

That’s the point of the proceeding verses… The teacher says in vs. 3:

Ecclesiastes 5:3–7 (CSB)

3 Just as dreams accompany much labor, so also a fool’s voice comes with many words.

4 When you make a vow to God, don’t delay fulfilling it, because he does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow.

5 Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.

6 Do not let your mouth bring guilt on you, and do not say in the presence of the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?

7 For many dreams bring futility; so do many words. Therefore, fear God.

Don’t Come to God BABBLING on with MANY WORDS about what HE must do…

Don’t make empty Promises in an attempt to MANIPULATE HIM…!

And Certainly Don’t try to CONTROL HIM!

Rather… And I believe the Teacher has arrived at the Beginning of His primary point of the entire book here:

FEAR GOD…

Recognize WHO GOD IS!!

And Recognize who is not…

YOU ARE NOT! I AM NOT!

OUR SUCCESS IS NOT…

OUR COMFORT is NOT…

HE IS GOD… SO REVERENTLY FEAR HIM! TRUST HIM! REST IN HIM and HIS SOVEREIGN PLAN…

Why!?

And here is the tough part for many… It’s Simple… because HE IS GOD!

That is ALL The Teacher Gives us right here…

OUR HUMAN HEARTS, though, want MORE!

We want PROOF that trusting God will be WORTH IT!

We want an ASSURANCE, that God will somehow give meaning, to our seemingly FUTILE EXISTENCE…

And while the BIBLE Certainly Does that… That is not the purpose of Ecclesiastes right here…

The Teacher has given us AMPLE reason to Trust God, simply by reminding us that HE IS GOD!!

He is in HEAVEN… YOU are on EARTH!

So don’t be FOOLISH, and try to TELL GOD HOW TO DO HIS JOB…

—TRUST HIM…!

Verses 1-7 of chapter 5, remind us of WHO is GOD… GOD IS…

Vs. 8-17, remind us what is not… It’s not our success, or our Riches…

If we DESIRE THESE THINGS, we will never be satisfied…

So instead, what should we do?

WE come to the end of the text… vs. 18, and hear again this continual refrain:

Ecclesiastes 5:18–20 (CSB)

18 Here is what I have seen to be good: It is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.

19 Furthermore, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth, he has also allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God,

20 for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

Let GOD be GOD… That is His job…

Here is our Job!

Enjoy His Gifts and Rest in His Sovereignty

Friends… The Book of Ecclesiastes, is HARD… Even Depressing At times… But it is also filled with JOY!

It’s REAL! It tells it like it is…

WE are NOT going to find MEANING and SATISFACTION by Constantly trying to CHANGE and REPAIR the BROKENNESS in the world around us…

We Can’t Do that!

Here is what we CAN do though…

We can enjoy the GOOD GIFTS of GOD, which he has given to us…

Do you want to HONOUR and please GOD TODAY…? Then Go Home, have a friend over for dinner and REJOICE in the food he has provided for you, through the work he has given you to do…

Do you want to honour God today? Then go for a walk… Smell the Summer air! Be amazed by the COLOURS of the FLOWERS.. the sounds of the BIRDS… The ENORMITY of the TREES… And REJOICE in GOD’s good gift of Creation!

Don’t spend time, thinking about all that is Wrong, and informing God of what he ought to do… Just ENJOY HIM!

—And here’s the Greatest part....

As great As God’s gifts of provisions are… as Great as CREATION is…

There is an Even greater Gift that He has given to us…

The Gift of Salvation!

Yes Friends… We LIVE in a BROKEN WORLD!

And we CANNOT FIX IT! But we HOLD THE GIFT, which is the HOPE of knowing the one who CAN and HAS and STILL WILL MEND all that is BROKEN!

ENJOY the GIFT of HIS Salvation!

WE don’t know what tomorrow will bring… —But here’s what we DO KNOW: We know what ETERNITY WILL BRING! And that is FAR BETTER!

So TRUST GOD! ENJOY HIS GIFTS… REVEL IN HIS SALVATION!

Together, We cannot CHANGE THE WORLD…

That is a GOD SIZED TASK!

But friends, we can point our world to the one who WILL!

REST in His Sovereignty…

Rejoice in HIS HOPE!

Let’s pray.