The Solution for Vanity

TURN to ECC. CH. 2:12

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OPEN in PRAYER

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Introduction: Choices

Whether we realize it or not,

all of us each and every day

make a great number of choices

WHAT to WEAR

COMMUTING—RADIO/ SPOTIFY/ PODCAST/ CD or SILENCE.

MEALTIME—FOOD

OUT to EAT:

MEXICAN

ITALIAN

CHINESE

AMERICAN

FAST-FOOD

TAKEOUT

NICE SIT-DOWN

AMAZON—GAZILLION OPTIONS & BRANDS

WE ALL MAKE CHOICES—REGULARLY.

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SOMETIMES—THERE ARE THINGS WE CAN CHOOSE…THAT WE OVERLOOK

SOME THINGS—HAVE OPTIONS— WE NEVER CONSIDERED...

SURVEYING TEACHER’S REFLECTION:

SEE CHOICES WE GET to MAKE...

POSSIBLY OVERLOOKED...

(T) And so, I’d like to read the passage now,

LOOK W/ ME @ ECC.... CH. 2...

VS. 12— VS. 26...

The teacher says,

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Passage Reading:

Ecclesiastes 2:12–26 (ESV)

12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.

13 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness.

14 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them.

15 Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.

16 For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool!

17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

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18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me,

19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.

20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun,

21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.

22 What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?

23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

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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?

26 For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

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Brief Recap:

Last Couple Weeks:

TEACHER (AUTHOR) SURVEYING LIFE

TRYING to FIND MEANING/ LASTING SATISFACTION

WISDOM & KNOWLEDGE—FIGURING IT OUT

SOME THINGS DON’T ADD UP

**HE CAME UP EMPTY**

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PLEASURES & FOLLY— LIVING IT UP

HE HAD GREAT POSSESSIONS

ANYTHING YOU COULD WANT

** HE CAME UP EMPTY**

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TEACHER HAS STRUCK OUT TWICE—TRYING to FIND SATISFACTION & MEANING...

(T) And this is where the text picks up today.

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Passage Preaching

Thought 1: Considering Wisdom vs. Madness/Folly (V12-14a)

12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. 13 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 14 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness.

FROM PURSUIT of PLEASURE — MOVING to PURSUIT of WISDOM VS. FOLLY

LIVING SMARTLY VS. FOOLISHLY

LIKELY: LIVING UPRIGHTLY VS. LIVING IMMORALLY.

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(V12B) YOU CAN ONLY DO WHAT OTHERS HAVE DONE

ONLY ACQUIRE THINGS OTHERS HAVE ACQUIRED

OTHERS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL TOO...

NOW: INSTEAD of “LAYING HOLD” on FOLLY

SEEKING to UNDERSTAND IT

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PRELIM. CONCLUSION:

MORE GAIN in WISDOM THAN FOLLY

LIKE LIGHT VS. DARKNESS..

(T) But is this glimmer of hope real?

Or is the LIGHT at the end of the TUNNEL really just an ONCOMING TRAIN??

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Thought 2 First Conclusion (V14b-17)

And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. 16 For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

MORE GAIN— ...BUT... ULTIMATELY WE ALL DIE ANYWAYS.

WISE DIES

FOOL DIES

WE ALL DIE.

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NO MATTER HOW UPRIGHTLY YOU LIVE— YOU STILL DIE.

?? SIN— CAUSE of ALL DEATH— ALL HAVE SINNED??

LIGHT VS DARKNESS—BUT ULTIMATELY LIGHTS GET SHUT OUT on ALL....

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(V17) TEACHER CONCLUDES— HE HATES LIFE!

UNDER the SUN = GRIEVOUS

VANITY & STRIVING AFTER WIND.

(T) And the TEACHER BEGINS to WALLOW...

...NOT JUST HATING LIFE— BUT HATING TOIL!...

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Thought 3: Considering the Vanity of Toil (v18-19)

18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.

I. LIVING WISELY = VAIN— YOU’RE GOING to DIE

II. WHEN YOU DIE — REWARDS for YOUR TOIL go to SOMEONE ELSE!

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!! YOU DON’T GET to TAKE YOUR STUFF WITH YOU!!

NICE HOUSE

TRUCK or CAR

RETIREMENT PORTFOLIO

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IT ALL GETS LEFT BEHIND!

& THEY MIGHT SQUANDER IT!

THIS = VANITY!

(T) And the teacher continues his wallowing:

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Thought 4: Second Conclusion (V20-23)

20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

GIVES HIS HEART UP to DESPAIR...

YOU WORK SO HARD

THEY INHERIT WITHOUT WORK

& THEY WRECK ALL YOUR LIFE’S TOIL.

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(V22) REVISITING QUESTION from 1:3

Ecclesiastes 1:3 (ESV)

3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?

GAIN SOME STUFF— LEAVE IT BEHIND— to SOMEONE UNDESERVING WHO MIGHT SQUANDER IT...

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(V23) MAN’S DAYS = FULL of SORROW...

WORK = VEXATION,,

HEART DOESN’T REST,, EVEN in the NIGHT!

(Q) HOW MANY THINK ABOUT WORK AFTER WORK?

IT’S HARD to SHUT YOUR BRAIN OFF.

THE CONVERSATION THAT WENT WRONG

THE THING YOU MESSED UP

THE UPCOMING TO-DO LIST

HATE YOUR JOB,, DREADING TOMORROW??

WORK EVER FOLLOW YOU HOME???

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THIS = RESULTS of TEACHER’S QUEST...

(V22) BENEATH the SUN— WE DON’T GAIN MUCH

IT’S ALL VANITY

(T) TEACHER HAS ALREADY HINTED— LIFE BEYOND the SUN...

IN V.24-26,, TEACHER GIVES RESULTS of HIS QUEST...

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Thought 5: Teacher’s True & Final Conclusion (v24-26)

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? 26 For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

(Q) EVER HAVE SOMEONE TURN a CAR SO HARD— YOU HIT YOUR HEAD OFF the WINDOW??

WE GO from VANITY—VANITY—VANITY—VANITY to… “FIND ENJOYMENT”???

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TRULY— LIFE “UNDER the SUN” = HARD… MIGHT SEEM VAIN...

WORK & WORK & WORK:

to BUY STUFF—DECAYS

to BE SUCCESSFUL? OTHERS HAVE DONE IT— WE’LL BE FORGOTTEN

to LEAVE INHERITANCE— MIGHT GET SQUANDERED

WORK SO HARD YOU CAN’T SHUT YOUR BRAIN OFF at NIGHT...

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SOMETIMES YOU HAVE to PLAY the CARDS YOU’RE DEALT...

IN LIFE—THERE ARE THINGS WE WOULD CHANGE if WE COULD…BUT CAN’T.

**WILL YOU STILL CHOOSE to ENJOY the RIDE?**

A LOT of WORK MIGHT SEEM VAIN...

WE MIGHT WISH to TAKE STUFF W/ US WHEN WE PASS...

WE CAN’T CHANGE the RULES.

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IN the MIDST of THINGS WE CAN’T CHANGE… WE CAN CHANGE OUR PERSPECTIVE....

THERE is MORE to LIFE THAN the PRESENT TOIL UNDER the SUN—THERE’S a GOD in HEAVEN.

&& THIS GOD GIVES GOOD GIFTS.

(V24) EAT & DRINK & FIND ENJOYMENT…

THIS MEANS—FINDING ENJOYMENT in the DAY-TO-DAY,,

YOU CAN CHOOSE to SEE the ORDINARY THINGS as GIFTS from an EXTRAORDINARY GOD.

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I. (Last Week) IF PLEASURE BECOMES YOUR GOD— IT’LL RUIN YOU.

FOOD & DRINK—WON’T SATISFY

POSSESSIONS— WON’T SATISFY

COUNTLESS SEXUAL PARTNERS— WON’T SATISFY

**BUT WHAT if YOU LOOKED @ LIFE’S PLEASURES… NOT as the END/GOAL…BUT as GIFTS GIVEN**

WORSHIPING the GIVER—NOT the GIFT.

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II. WORK/TOIL BECOMES YOUR GOD— AIMING to BE SUCCESSFUL, ETC… IT’LL RUIN YOU...

**BUT WHAT if YOU LOOKED @ WORK as an EXPRESSION of WORSHIP??**

(V24) “FIND ENJOYMENT” = HB: CAUSE YOUR SOUL to SEE the GOOD

ALL of US HAVE THINGS ABOUT “OUR TOIL” WE WOULD CHANGE:

BOSS/MANAGER = NO GOOD?

HOURS = ROUGH?

NO MEANING?

PAY = POOR?

VACATION TIME= NONEXISTENT?

(Q) BUT is THERE ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR WORK THAT is GOOD?

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(V24B-25) ENJOYMENT in WORK = FROM GOD’S HAND… A GIFT FROM HIM...

WORK = ROOTED in CREATION

WORK is NOT a CONSEQUENCE of the FALL

WE SERVE a GOD WHO WORKS

A GOD WHO CREATES

&& HE EXPECTS US to CONTRIBUTE in SOME WAY…HE’S MADE US in HIS IMAGE!

**NOT ALL NEED “TRADITIONAL EMPLOYMENT”** BUT WE ALL TOIL SOMEWHERE...

WHAT IF YOU SAW YOUR TOIL as an EXPRESSION of WORSHIP to the GOD WHO MADE YOU to CONTRIBUTE?

COULD YOU FIND the GOOD in IT??

IT’S THERE…WILL YOU GO LOOKING?...

....OR WILL YOU FOCUS on the VANITIES of IT?

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(v26) TO the ONE WHO PLEASES GOD—

WISDOM

KNOWLEDGE

& JOY...

IF YOU’RE in RIGHT RELATIONSHIP W/ GOD— YOU CAN EXPERIENCE JOY as HIS GIFT...

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LASTING SATISFACTION/MEANING— HADN’T BEEN FOUND…UNTIL NOW...

WISDOM & KNOWLEDGE DIDN’T CUT IT

LIFE’S PLEASURES DIDN’T CUT IT...

LIVING WISELY DIDN’T CUT IT...

TOIL DIDN’T CUT IT...

(T) But finally the TEACHER CONCLUDES, and says to us this morning:

Preaching Idea:

Lasting satisfaction and enjoyment are found in God alone as we enjoy His gifts towards us.

(T) For truly, if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, you can find enjoyment in life, nearly anywhere, if you want to.

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Gospel:

ENJOYMENT COMES— AS a GIFT FROM GOD.

HE is the FOUNDATION.

THE ONE WHO PLEASES HIM— HE GIVES JOY!

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APART FROM HIM— YOU LIVE “UNDER the SUN” PURSUING ALL MANNER of THINGS to FILL YOU— & COME UP EMPTY

((TEACHER’S EXPERIENCE))

ALL THOSE THINGS = EMPTY

NONE GO WITH US

WE ALL DIE:

I. BOTH the WISE & FOOL

II. SUCCESSFUL & the ORDINARY

WHEN FLESH ROTS OFF our BONES WE WON’T BE DISTINGUISHABLE NO MATTER HOW SUCCESSFUL WE ARE...

SCHOLAR, PHILIP RYKEN: “Alexander found Diogenes (PHILOSOPHER/FRIEND) standing alone in a field,

looking intently at a large pile of bones.

When Alexander asked what he was doing, Diogenes gave this reply:

“I am searching for the bones of your father Philip, but I cannot seem to distinguish them from the bones of the slaves.”

TODAY:

ELON,,

TRUMP,,

BEZOS,,

GATES,,

&& HOMELESS MAN… THEY’LL ALL MATCH.

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WE NEED a HOPE—THAT SURPASSES THIS LIFE & the GRAVE...

HOPE = FOUND in JESUS CHRIST...

GOSPEL: PAID SIN’S PENALTY—GIVE US HOPE of ETERNAL LIFE

Luke 10:20 (ESV)

20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

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I CAN ENJOY LIFE—KNOWING I’M JUST PASSING THROUGH

**THIS is JUST MY CONNECTING FLIGHT,, NOT MY FINAL DESTINATION**

LIFE UNDER the SUN MIGHT BE VAIN

BUT I SERVE a GOD WHO LIVES BEYOND the SUN,, WHO GAVE HIS SON for ME...

& I HAVE HOPE & JOY TODAY...

CALL: IF YOU DON’T HAVE RELATIONSHIP W/ GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST,,

HOPE of ETERNAL LIFE—

TALK to ME AFTER SERVICE TODAY...

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App: Finding Joy in the Seeming Vanity

IF YOU’RE a BELIEVER in JESUS CHRIST:

JOY = GIFT from GOD

JOY = FRUIT of the SPIRIT

GOD GRANTS ENJOYMENT to US—AS HIS GIFT.

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APART FROM GOD… LIFE = VAIN.

WITH GOD… LIFE = a GIFT FILLED W/ GOOD GIFTS from the GIVER....

TEACHER’S JOURNEY = RECOUNTED to TRY & SAVE US the TIME & ENERGY of WASTING LIFE...

YOU CAN LEARN on YOUR OWN

OR LEARN from HIS EXAMPLE...

TEACHER = TRYING to SHOW US HOW EMPTY LIFE is APART FROM GOD

SO HE CAN SHOW US HOW SATISFYING LIFE W/ GOD IS.

Apart from God there is no lasting enjoyment which means with Him there is!

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HE GRANTS US BLESSINGS...

(Q) WILL WE CHOOSE to FIND the ENJOYMENT & JOY HE OFFERS??

FACEBOOK MEME:

YOU CAN CHOOSE to FIND JOY in SNOW

YOU CAN CHOOSE to HATE IT

EITHER WAY,, YOU’LL HAVE the SAME AMOUNT of SNOW...

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FINDING ENJOYMENT = “CAUSING YOUR SOUL to SEE the GOOD”

**USUALLY NOT FOUND UNLESS WE’RE LOOKING…**

SOMETIMES OUR SOULS NEED a REALITY CHECK: GOD is GOOD & HE’S BEEN GOODER to US THAN WE’D EVER DESERVE....

**YOU MIGHT BE an OPTIMIST— CONGRATULATIONS**

SOME of US SAID “AMEN” WHEN the TEACHER SAID, “VANITY of VANITIES”

FOR SOME OF US…IT’S NOT SO EASY

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**BUT WE ALL HAVE GOOD AROUND US WE CAN CAUSE OUR SOULS to SEE**

FOOD & DRINK & NATURAL PROVISIONS = GIFTS from GOD...

ARE YOU GENUINE WHEN YOU THANK GOD BEFORE a MEAL?

THESE ARE GIFTS to US!

ENJOYMENT CAN BE FOUND in TOIL

((WHETHER YOU’RE TRADITIONALLY EMPLOYED,,

WORK AROUND the HOUSE,,

RETIRED, ETC.))

((ALL of US “TOIL” in SOME WAY...

TRADITIONAL WORK (GOOD THINGS)

THAT YOU HAVE a JOB

PROBLEM PERSON?? — MAYBE GOD is USING YOU to BE a LIGHT.

BOSS = JERK?? — MAYBE GOD is TEACHING YOU PATIENCE

NOT PAID ENOUGH?? —MAYBE GOD is TEACHING YOU CONTENTMENT

THERE’S SOMETHING GOOD THERE.

YOUR CONTRIBUTION MATTERS

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WORK AROUND the HOUSE:

DISHES PILING UP— THANKING GOD THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO MAKE DISHES DIRTY

TRIPPING ON TOYS— I’M GOING to MISS WHEN MY KIDS PLAY WITH TOYS...

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THERE’S VANITY & BAD ALL AROUND US...

BUT THERE’S ALSO GOOD…SOMEWHERE.

GOD GRANTS US the GIFT of ENJOYMENT— IF WE’RE ONLY WILLING to CAUSE OUR SOULS to SEE the GOOD.

?? DAVE WILLIS ILLUSTRATION??

?? TAKING SOUL BY NAP of NECK ??

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FOR CHOOSING to FIND ENJOYMENT in GOD (the GIVER)

& in GOD’S DAILY GIFTS is HOW WE’LL FIND LASTING SATISFACTION in LIFE…AMEN?

Close in Prayer

[1]Sidney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes: Foundations for Expository Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 67.