The meaning of life

Read Ecclesiastes 3:12–13 “I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.”

I found a list,

on the most asked questions on Google.

What do you think are the most asked questions on google?

Here are the top 5:

#5 How many ounces in a cup?

What do you think is the answer? (ask)

The answer is 8 ounces.

#4 How many weeks in a year?

What’s the answer?

52.

#3 What is my IP?

Don’t answer that.

You guys are the generations of hackers,

wouldn’t be surprised if you already know it.

Creepy.

#2 What time is it?

Ask

#1 What to watch?

Ask: would anyone like to give us a recommendation on what to watch?

But here’s a bigger question:

What’s the meaning of life?

The Bible,

being the Creator’s message to the world and his creation,

has an answer,

to the million dollar question:

on what’s the meaning of life?

But before,

we answer the question.

Let’s look at why,

this question has been asked so many times,

over thousands of years.

1. The meaninglessness of life (v.9-10)

The reason why,

this question has been asked so many times,

for thousands of years,

is because,

life is meaningless.

Look at v.9,

‘What profit has the worker from that which he labors?’

Another translation says,

Ecclesiastes 3:9 (ESV)

What gain has the worker from his toil?

To understand this question,

I want you guys,

to try to answer this.

What do you get from working?

Money, success, fulfilment.

But if work,

gave all of those things,

why do so many people,

want to retire at 40? (retirement pic)

It’s because work is repetitive.

Imagine,

wake up at 6:30 am,

get to school at 8,

get home by 2-3.

And then when you graduate,

you go to college or start working.

9-5,

5 days a week,

for 45+ years,

until you retire at 65.

Is that what life is about?

Working til you die?

Very common phrase I hear,

‘I don’t need sleep. I’ll sleep when I die.’

And it comes from a the grind culture,

of overworking yourself til you die,

because our society,

doesn’t know,

the meaning of life.

And that’s what the author is pondering here.

What’s the point of life,

when all you do is school, school school,

and then after you graduate,

work, work, work

and it never ends?

It’s repetitive.

But work and school is not only repetitive.

It’s exhausting.

Look at v.10,

‘I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.’

This verse is a bit tricky to understand.

But the key to unlocking this verse,

is understanding,

what the God-given task is.

The answer is back in chapter 1.

You see students,

this is why the key to understanding the Bible,

is reading the entire book from beginning to end,

like the Gospel of John,

for example.

Rather than randomly flipping and jumping around.

You’ll never get full understanding,

of the Bible that way.

So let’s look at chapter 1.

Ecclesiastes 1:13 (ESV)

And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.

What kind of business did God give to man? (ask)

An unhappy one.

Now, why, would God give, an unhappy business to man?

It’s because of Adam’s sin in the garden.

Genesis 3:17–19 (ESV)

And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you;

in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Because of Adam’s sin,

God has cursed man,

with work that is repetitive and exhausting.

Before the fall,

work was a pure pleasure.

Not repetitive,

nor exhausting,

but a complete joy to do.

Hard to imagine.

And so now that we understand what the God-given task,

God has given man.

Repetitive and exhausting work.

It’s not a surprise,

that Solomon

who wrote this book,

even being the richest man,

and most successful man of

his time,

began to feel,

that life is meaningless.

That’s why he says in Ecclesiastes 1:14

Ecclesiastes 1:14 (ESV)

I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

The word vanity,

refers to a breath that comes and goes in an instant.

In other words, vanity refers to meaninglessness.

If a man like Solomon,

had everything he wanted,

accomplished every goal he set out to do,

says life is meaningless,

then life truly is

meaningless.

2. God gives meaning to life (v.11)

Let’s look at v.11,

‘He has made everything beautiful in its time.’

What Solomon is saying here,

is that despite,

the repetitive nature of life,

God has a purpose for it.

God has a meaning for it.

And the way,

that God brings meaning and purpose to life,

is by ordaining everything,

according to His time.

I want to a little exercise right now.

I want everyone to read, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

But the way we’re going to read it,

is that each person will read one line,

and then the person next to them will read,

and so on,

until the end.

So I’ll start,

by reading, ‘to everything there is a season’

(assign first reader)

Do you see students?

I hope you see

the beauty of this passage.

That there is a right time for everything.

Because God is the One,

who decides the timing,

of all things.

And His timing is beautiful.

He makes everything beautiful in its time.

Let’s move on to the next phrase of the verse,

‘Also He has put eternity in their hearts,’

So first,

we saw that God gives meaning to life,

by deciding the perfect and beautiful time,

for everything.

And now with this phrase,

we see that God gives meaning to life,

by giving every human being,

the desire for eternity.

A desire for something higher

when He creates them.

This is the second layer,

as to why people ask the question,

what’s the meaning of life?

The first was, life feels meaningless,

and the second,

is that God created everyone with the desire to find the answer,

to the meaning of life.

But there’s a problem.

Look at the end of the phrase,

‘except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.’

Just because God has put the desire in every person,

to find the answer,

doesn’t mean,

they can find it.

You see,

because of the fall in the garden,

people’s hearts became corrupted.

And so this pure and God desire,

that God gave,

becomes polluted,

with other sinful desires.

This is why so many people,

answer this question,

a million different ways.

And they create,

many false religions,

and lifestyles,

to answer it.

So students,

we’ve seen that life is meaningless,

but that God gives meaning to life.

But,

what is,

that meaning?

And that’s our final point.

3. The meaning of life (v.12-13)

Let’s look at v.12,

‘I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives’

What Solomon is saying here,

is enjoy,

and live a righteous life.

Life is not all about working.

It’s not all about study and school.

Resting and having fun,

is also part of God’s design for life.

That’s why He worked 6 days,

and then what students? (ask)

Rested on the 7th.

Genesis 2:2–3 (ESV)

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

American work and hustle culture,

can be very toxic.

Don’t fall for it students.

Work and rest. (rest pic)

Don’t make the mistake I did.

There was a time.

When I was a senior in university.

And in my last semester.

Maybelle and I got married. (wedding pic)

Just a little thing to remember students,

when you get married one day,

you’ll realize that you have much less free time for yourself,

because that free time,

now belongs to another human being.

So,

in my last semester I was full time with about 14 credits.

But on top of that,

I got accepted into seminary,

which is graduate level courses,

basically it’s college level classes,

but twice as hard.

So I just got married,

I’m taking 14 credits in university,

which is full time,

and I began a class

in seminary,

that’s worth 2 university classes in difficulty.

So in essence I was taking 6 college courses at once.

But we’re not done yet.

Because I was also working a full time,

40 hour per week manager job.

And we’re still not done.

Because I wanted to serve the Lord and become a pastor.

I plugged myself into 3 ministries,

in a previous church.

Young adults/college,

international,

and newly married couples.

You guys go to one group,

students,

imagine going to 3.

When I tell you I was busy, students,

For 4 years,

from 2017-2020.

I fell of the face of the earth.

I played no video games,

I watched sports maybe once a year,

I watched no anime.

I no longer kept up with any movies,

and music,

during those 5 years.

I didn’t watch any of the avengers.

And I didn’t play Minecraft.

Listen students,

I wanna tell you something.

Our hustle culture,

wants you to praise me for all this.

It would say, that I’m bragging.

But I’m not.

According to God’s word, I’m a fool.

Even though there is a sacrifice,

to go through seminary.

I took it to the extreme.

I did not rest.

I did not enjoy life.

And I was burnt out.

I was so burned out,

that I had to stop and take a break for a few years.

And I finished seminary in 5 almost 6 years,

when I could have finished in 3,

if I rested.

Imagine losing 2 almost 3 years,

simply because you failed to rest.

That’s what I did.

That’s why part,

of the meaning of life,

is to rest.

Don’t just work and study all day, rest.

And the final part,

is in v.13,

‘and also that every man should drink and enjoy the good of all his labor’

What he’s saying here,

is that you need to enjoy the fruit of your labor.

Save your money,

invest it,

give and be generous with it,

but also enjoy it.

If you are saving,

investing

and giving your money,

Go ahead and order some Doordash.

go ahead and buy those J’s you like.

Why not?

Enjoy it.

But students,

there must be wisdom here.

Life is not all about,

working hard

and playing hard.

That’s what Solomon already did,

so there must be something missing here.

And it’s in the very last phrase.

‘it is the gift of God.’

Solomon is saying,

when you work and make money,

and you decide to buy those 4s,

1s,

or SBs,

or pay $30 to Doordash one sandwich from Chick Fil A,

or buy the Fortnite skin,

Enjoy it.

But enjoy it,

not because of those things themselves,

because you see those things as a gift from God.

This students!

Is the ultimate meaning of life.

To worship!

Worship means,

To recognize God’s goodness.

To give Him thanks and glory.

In other words,

the meaning of life,

is this,

students,

‘Glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’

Write that down students.

To bring more clarity,

Let’s go to the New Testament, and look at 1 Cor 10:31

1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV)

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Just like Ecclesiastes,

eating and drinking,

must be recognized as a gift from God.

But the New Testament,

goes further,

and adds,

everything you do,

must be to the glory of God!

What does everything mean students?

Everything!

Going to church?

Yes!

Eating wings?

Yes!

Brushing your teeth?

Yes!

Playing Fortnite?

Yes!

Everything means,

everything!

Do everything,

to the glory of God.

I didn’t write that.

God wrote that.

Now this does not mean,

after service,

you go back to your mom and dad,

and say,

‘Pastor Brandon, taught me to go play Fortnite.’

No, that’s not my point!

My point,

is this:

What things do you do,

do you do to God’s glory when doing?

As long as it’s not sinful.

It doesn’t matter if it’s Fortnite,

or brushing your teeth.

Are there certain activities,

watching a TV show,

crocheting,

playing basketball,

where you have not been recognizing,

God as the one who deserves glory,

for the rest and enjoyment you are receiving from Him?

Because students.

Remember this.

Worship,

glorifying God,

is not an activity.

It’s a mindset.

When we think of worship,

we often just think of singing church music at church on Sunday.

That alone is not worship.

Worship is in the heart,

and in the spirit.

John 4:24 ESV

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Jesus didn’t say worship God by opening your lips and singing,

bow your head and close your eyes,

none of those physical activities matter.

Because God is spirit.

Glorifying Him,

is a spiritual mindset.

Just like how you feel awe,

when you see a beautiful sunset,

or view,

and you thank God for it in your heart.

Do the same for anything and everything.

That students is glorifying God

and enjoying Him forever.

You’re not supposed to feel bored,

and meaningless.

When you have a God you can enjoy,

on repeat,

anytime and anywhere.

Gospel/conclusion

I want to conclude,

by reaching out to those of you,

who don’t have Christ whom you can glorify and enjoy forever. (God’s design slide)

And you feel this boredom,

and depressing meaningless to your life. (brokenness slide)

To know,

that Christ came to lay down His life,

to take the punishment you deserve,

on the cross. (gospel slide)

And He offers it to you as a free gift.

All you have to do is take it and believe.

Because He rose again,

to show what will happen to you,

if you believe in Him.

You become a new creation,

in Him,

today. (restoration slide)

Let’s pray.

(life on mission pic)