Finding Lasting Satisfaction

Scriptural Text: 2:18-26

We will conclude this sermon series with this message: FINDING LASTING SATISFACTION

A Puritan sat down to his meal and found that he had only a little bread and some water. His response was to exclaim, “What? All this and Jesus Christ, too!”

A Puritan sat down to his meal and found that he had only a little bread and some water. His response was to exclaim, “What? All this and Jesus Christ, too!”

life.248

Contentment is found when we have a correct perspective on life.248

Contentment is found when we have a correct perspective on life.248

Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 80.

First, he expressed his hatred for life; now, he was declaring his hatred for all the things he had worked for. He viewed his lifetime of labor as miserable and empty. Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - The Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible – Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon.

First, he expressed his hatred for life; now, he was declaring his hatred for all the things he had worked for. He viewed his lifetime of labor as miserable and empty. Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - The Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible – Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon.

(2:18-23) Hard work and wealth fail to fully satisfy the human heart.

A. He hated is life for three reasons:

1. Because a person’s success and wealth must be left to others (vv. 18-19a).

2. Because a person’s work and wealth are meaningless and can cause despair: They do not fully satisfy a person’s heart (vv. 19b-20).

3. Because a person’s estate—secured by hard work and skill—may be left to the lazy or indulgent (vv. 21-23).

4.

In light of this, to Solomon, it:

made work and wealth meaningless, unsatisfying, a real misfortune (v.21)

caused him to question why he should strive so anxiously and work so hard (v.22)

filled him with pain and grief and made him restless at night (v.23)

Thought 1. (1) we should be faithful stewards of everything God has entrusted to us. At the same time, (2) we need to be wise in planning for what happens to our estates after we are gone.

One of the ways our work can follow us is through wise estate planning that includes donations to the Lord’s work.

Note: If we fail to make plans for our estates, we are guaranteeing that our life’s work—all the Lord has blessed us with materially—will be lost.

Solomon had failed to impart to his son what would make him a wise king. Solomon was so busy building his kingdom that he neglected to invest in his son those things that would guarantee the future success of his kingdom.

Solomon failed to walk with the Lord and, in doing so, he all but guaranteed that his son would not walk with the Lord either. The problems that ultimately led to Israel’s fall to the Assyrians and Babylonians began with Solomon. Perhaps the reason he despaired so much over what would become of his kingdom was just this, the realization of his failure to provide spiritual leadership for Israel’s future.

Wise investments, good decisions, hard work—all of these are important; but without a spiritual foundation to sustain them, every man’s kingdom will eventually crumble and fall.

(NKJV)

19And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’

20But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

21“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

(2:24-26) The conclusion: Trust God.

(1) Live day by day—eat and drink and enjoy what God gives you (v.24a).

“Thank God for what you do have, and enjoy it, to the glory of God.” Paul gave his approval to this attitude when he exhorted us to trust “in the living God, who gives us all things to enjoy” (, NKJV).[ Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - The Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible – Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon.

(2) Find satisfaction in your work: Know that life and work are gifts from God (v.24b).

(2) Find satisfaction in your work: Know that life and work are gifts from God (v.24b).

God created people to work, and He created work to help people to find fulfillment. In essence, Solomon is saying there is nothing better than the ordinary things in life: eating, drinking, working, and, though not stated, spending time with family and friends (v.24). True happiness and satisfaction are not found in the extraordinary, not in excessive…

(3) Know that God alone can fully satisfy the human heart (v.25).

The key to fullness of life—to finding the meaning of life—is found in the Lord. God and God alone can bring deep, abiding satisfaction to the human heart. Solomon asked an important question for all of us: “Apart from God, who can eat or find enjoyment?” The answer is simple: nobody can—not enjoyment that lasts, that fully satisfies.

The key to fullness of life—to finding the meaning of life—is found in the Lord. God and God alone can bring deep, abiding satisfaction to the human heart. Solomon asked an important question for all of us: “Apart from God, who can eat or find enjoyment?” The answer is simple: nobody can—not enjoyment that lasts, that fully satisfies.

(4) Please (obey) God and know that God meets the needs of His followers (v.26).

True wisdom, true knowledge, and true joy are found only in pleasing God, in obeying Him and His commands. “Fear God and keep His commandments” (12:13). For those individuals who live for Him and obey Him, God rewards them… · with wisdom—the ability to discern and make the right choices and decisions · with knowledge—the greatest knowledge of all is the knowledge of God Himself · with joy—a true, abiding, inner joy, not happiness that is fleeting and contingent upon circumstances

“Fear God and keep His commandments” (12:13). For those individuals who live for Him and obey Him, God rewards them… · with wisdom—the ability to discern and make the right choices and decisions · with knowledge—the greatest knowledge of all is the knowledge of God Himself · with joy—a true, abiding, inner joy, not happiness that is fleeting and contingent upon circumstances

(5) Know that the sinner’s pursuit of wealth is meaningless—not fully satisfying, lasting, or enduring (v.26).

(5) Know that the sinner’s pursuit of wealth is meaningless—not fully satisfying, lasting, or enduring (v.26).

In light of the above truth—that everything of value a sinner possesses will one day be given to believers as an inheritance—the individual who lives apart from God will never know true satisfaction or fulfillment.

(NKJV)

1“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.

2Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.

3Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you— The sure mercies of David.

(NKJV)

21And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

(NKJV)

8This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

(NKJV)

24But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - The Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible – Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon.