How to be Happy
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We’ve spent this semester talking a lot about Hot Topics.
And we touched on some spicy stuff.
So - to wrap this semester up. We’re going to take all of those things we talked about
-Which we talked about sexuality, the image of God and how we view people, how we view ourselves
—We’re going to take all of that and take a big picture view of everything.
Tonight I want to talk about the purpose of life
Tonight I want to tell you How to be Happy
“Be Happy!”
“Ecclesiastes” is the Latin translation of the Hebrew name Qoheleth (sometimes written Kohelet), which the NLT translates as “the Teacher” or the ESV translates “the Preacher”
The Preacher, who is teaching us, is teaching us the meaning of life.
This book contains the secret to the meaning of life
The word “meaningless” appears 35 times in the span of 12 short chapters.
The Preacher walks us through situations and seasons, all of which, point to the meaninglessness of life - APART FROM GOD
Our life is nothing more than striving after wind - APART FROM GOD
So let’s start at the end and see the purpose of the Teacher’s message …
Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 (ESV)
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
THE KEY
FEAR GOD - KEEP IS COMMANDMENTS- this is man’s full duty in life
Life is meaningless APART FROM GOD
So now - let’s go back to the beginning
Ecclesiastes 1:1–3 (ESV)
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?
Immediately the Preacher opens with the frustration of everyone on earth: is what I’m doing, does it even matter?
What’s the point?
Am I making a difference?
Is there something for me at the end of this race?
We’ve touched on a lot of topics … ALL OF WHICH, are man’s attempts to find meaning in their lives APART FROM GOD.
It is vain. It is pointless. It is impossible. It is meaningless.
Sexual perversion is just an attempted to find satisfaction outside of God’s design.
It won’t work. It will become meaningless.
Because we’re never satisfied with ourselves.
3 What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
As soon as we gain one thing — we are fighting to gain the next thing
Because desires and dreams left unchecked will always lead to sin.
We think — if this and that could happen — then I’ll be happy and accomplish my dreams
The problems you face in grade school you will carry into college
The problems you face in your singleness you’ll carry into your marriage
The problems you face while living with your parents and learning how to honor them will carry into when you move out and live on your own.
You can’t escape the issues within yourself.
Why?
Because we must Fear God and Keep His Commandments — anything outside of that will only lead to dead ends. Frustration. Meaninglessness. Vanity.
13 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. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
And this is really the sentiment that is carried out this book
Is life meaningless? Is it nothing but endless busyness?
We live in culture that is OBSESSED with busyness.
We need constant stimulation.
We play on our phones as we watch TV
We compare ourselves on social media
We live at an unsustainable pace.
Current treads are projecting that Generation Z and Alpha (which is you guys) will spend up to 28 YEARS of their lives on Social Media and Video Games…
28 YEARS!
The current life expectancy is 77 years.
Meaning that nearly 38% of your life will be spent on pointless, meaningless, doom scrolling.
It is an unhappy business that God has given man to be busy with
The Teacher, he continues and speaks of how self-indulgence is meaningless
How trying to be the smartest is meaningless
How trying to accomplish more is meaningless
All is vanity and striving after wind
And so the Preacher he starts to give a solution - or maybe more accurately, he starts to give us a position in which we are to live
Ecclesiastes 2:24–26 (ESV)
24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?
This is where the Preacher begins to give us the right position against meaninglessness.
The position against meaninglessness is to TOIL — is to Struggle.
READ IT AGAIN^^
You will have toil - so you might as well enjoy it while you have it
Toil is as good as life gets!
Hear me —
JOY AND PLEASURE ARE FROM GOD
And they come through Struggle. Through TOIL
All these issues that we’ve been talking about — YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO AVOID THEM. Matter of fact, they will only become more predominant in your life.
University professors are 5x more likely to be atheist.
You think you can just ignore the issues in our world and you’ll just slip on by?
Not going to happen.
You will have to work through how you believe and apply God’s Word to your life.
In this world - you will have trial and struggle. But we get to take JOY because Christ has overcome the world.
There is a joy in your struggle
It is good that you have toil. That you have struggles.
Maybe we should stop wishing our lives were different and start looking at the season and place God has placed us in.
Your toil is a gift from God
Find enjoyment in your toil
We keep searching for this struggle-less life — AND IT DOES NOT EXIST
Maybe its a blessing you’re feeling alone in this season of your life …
Maybe its a blessing you have a friend that is struggling with their sexuality because now you are being forced to understand WHY you believe WHAT you believe …
Maybe its a blessing you’re dealing with stress and anxiety because God is teaching you how to trust in Him …
Christ will return, He is coming back for His bride, but on this side of eternity - there is no Finish Line!
So stop judging your life as if there was and as if you were behind in some way
This is what the Preacher continues on to say
Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 (ESV)
1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
You can’t judge the outcome if you don’t know the season!
You can’t know your priority without knowing your season.
If you judge your harvest OUT OF SEASON - you will only be disappointed.
12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
Much of our toil is self inflicted.
We’ve made life a rat race.
We’ve turned it into something meaningless
Something horribly and needlessly complicated
6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.
Why are we striving for things God has not permitted for the season we are in?
Don’t awaken love before its season … Why are you worrying about boys when you are no where near ready to be married?
Boys - why are you leading girls on when you are no where near ready to provide for them and start a family? Are you just trying to do something stupid?
Why are you worrying about your future career when you need to focus on your math test?
Where does God have you RIGHT NOW?
Know your season - know your priority
Benji and Noah constantly making messes
It is pointless and meaningless to clean
Why????
Because there is a day coming… when my wife and I won’t have to clean up after my boys.
They will be grown and gone - and Paula and I will be empty-nesters
There will be no more messes to clean
No more noise
You may feel stuck, alone, lost … You will never get this season of life again.
You will never have a greater opportunity in life to devote HOURS in prayer and study.
Me when I was 15-17 …
What I see as a toil, is really a gift
What I see as a distraction, is really a memory
What I think is a struggle, is really what makes life sweet
Know your season know your priority
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Apart from God, life is meaningless.
This warning serves to undermine the tendency of all humanity to create their own meaning for their lives.
Wisdom, relationships, power, money, influence, and other areas are all put under a microscope, and the conclusion is that “all is meaningless” without God.
The struggle is God’s gift to the righteous and God’s judgement to the unrighteous
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
-Find Enjoyment in your Toil
-Know your season
PRAY OVER THEM