Investing My Life To Make A Difference
INVESTING MY LIFE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
2/10 AND 2/11/2001
-Recently I’ve heard of several Christians who made statements like:
IS MY LIFE MAKING A DIFFERENCE?
I DON’T FEEL LIKE I’M DOING ANYTHING FOR GOD.
-I’ve also been reading through the book of Ecclesiastes.
-I think Solomon struggled out loud with the same things that we struggle with.
-He had everything yet he struggled for the meaning in life.
-You could also call this “THE SEARCH FOR SIGNIFICANCE.”
ECCLESIASTES
-First of all we have to consider Solomon’s father David. We know David had problems and gross failures yet we know from Acts 13:36 that he fulfilled God’s purpose in his generation.
-David didn’t get to do everything he wanted to do; he didn’t finish his list, yet we know he finished God’s purpose.
(Even John the Baptist must have wondered about whether he had done the right thing yet we know from Scripture that he did God’s will for him.)
-Solomon takes over as king in the place of his father.
-He is very wise and humble but he compromised by building altars to please his wives who didn’t worship the God of Israel.
-In the latter part of his life he didn’t walk with God. This is in spite of God coming to him and asking how He could help him etc.
-Solomon wrote Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The first book, Proverbs was written in the early part of Solomon’s reign when he walked with God. The second, Ecclesiastes, in the latter part of his reign when sin had separated him from God. Solomon still had riches and wisdom; so he begins a search for truth and contentment. The answer; apart from God; all is vanity (emptiness or worthlessness). Proverbs shows that wisdom and the meaning of life has its source in God. Ecclesiastes shows merely natural wisdom and meaning apart from God and the futility of it. It is a book about life UNDER THE SUN. In other words life as it appears to a man looking at it without the knowledge of eternity and reality. You cannot find the meaning of life and your place in it apart from God. Your life and its meaning is hidden in Him and only by discovering Him does everything else get in perspective.
EXAMPLE:
Little boy with Father. Man cam home from work and wanted peace and quiet. The little boy was sent away to put together a puzzle from newspaper of the world. He came right back and said, there was a man on the other side: WHEN YOU GET THE MAN RIGHT, THE WORLD JUST FOLLOWS.
-You may be in a situation where you don’t have the resources and ability to make a huge impact on your world. Solomon had it all and he faced the same struggle.
ECCLESIATES SCRIPTURES:
Chapter 1
1 ¶ The words of the Teacher, son of David, king of Jerusalem:
2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."
3 What does man gain from all his labour at which he toils under the sun?
4 ¶ Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains for ever.
10 Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.
11 There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.
12 ¶ I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men!
14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.
(The information age doesn’t bring any answers.)
Chapter 2
1 ¶ I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless.
2 "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?"
3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly--my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worth while for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.
5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.
6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.
7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.
8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well--the delights of the heart of man.
9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labour.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
Chapter 3
9 What does the worker gain from his toil?
10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men.
11 ¶ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.
13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God.
Chapter 4
4 ¶ And I saw that all labour and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbour. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Chapter 5
10 Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.
11 As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?
12 The sleep of a labourer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.
Chapter 8
16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man's labour on earth--his eyes not seeing sleep day or night--
17 then I saw all that God has done. No-one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it.
Chapter 11
9 Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
Chapter 12
1 ¶ Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"—
13 ¶ Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
-We know from Solomon what the meaning of life and fulfillment in life isn’t:
POWER
MONEY
SEX
FAME
RECREATION
WHATEVER ELSE DELIGHTS THE EYE
-What are conclusions from Solomon’s conclusions?
1. YOU HAVE TO SUBMIT TO AND FOLLOW SOMEBODY
-Solomon said that should be God.
-It might be a sports star or a singer or Bill Gates or a preacher, but it needs to be God.
-Are you on course? Have you become a Christian yet? If so, are you really following God with your life?
-You can’t reach the mountain of God if you take the wrong road.
-If you are in rebellion, you are headed downhill.
-Are you taking time to ask God if your life is on course?
Ps 57:2 I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfils [his purpose] for me.
Ps 138:8 The LORD will fulfil [his purpose] for me; your love, O LORD, endures for ever--do not abandon the works of your hands.
2. YOU HAVE TO LOVE SOMEBODY
-Your relationships matter.
-Who are you influencing?
-Are you putting first things first?
YOU RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR SPOUSE
YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CHILDREN
(California-great place but my family was here.)
YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER BELIEVERS
YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WORLD
-Tina Turner says, “What’s Love got to Do With It?”
1Th 2:19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?
-The treasure in your life is the people in your life.
3. YOU HAVE TO GIVE TO SOMEBODY
-This week I was in Orange County; it is a beautiful place with a tremendous amount of money.
-We think that we would be happy if we could get one of those houses on the hill overlooking the ocean.
-It wouldn’t hurt me, but it wouldn’t fulfill me.
Ecclesiastes 4
4 ¶ And I saw that all labour and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbour. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
5 The fool folds his hands and ruins himself.
6 Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.
7 ¶ Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:
8 There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. "For whom am I toiling," he asked, "and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?" This too is meaningless--a miserable business!
Lu 12:15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
-What are you doing with your money?
-A man’s life isn’t made by what he gets but by what he gives.
-When you see the obituary it doesn’t have a record of his wealth. There is not scorecard.
-If you win the rat race, you are still a rat.
TITHE
(BE A PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN YOURSELF.)
GIVE MONEY TO MISSIONS AND WORKS WHERE OTHERS ARE BEING HELPED
DO SOMETHING RADICAL WITH A POSSESSION
(FIND SOMEONE WHO NEEDS A CAR AND GIVE YOUR OLD ONE AWAY OR SOMETHING)
LOOK FOR WAYS TO GIVE
-Even worldly financial planners tell clients to do that so they can have a good attitude.
-Don’t be a Scrooge.
4. YOU HAVE TO SERVE SOMEBODY
-There are people who clean the church for free, work in the nursery, reach out to people through lighthouse groups and other things that are better off because of it.
-It is great to know your ministry and work in that area, in the meantime, WORK AND SERVE AND HELP.
-Jesus washed His disciples feet, was that His ministry or was He just serving.
-Are you spending you life for others or is time just ticking away?
-You lose 24 hours every day. Are you spending and investing it or just losing it?
-Your life matters.
1. YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW SOMEBODY
2. YOU HAVE TO LOVE SOMEBODY
3. YOU HAVE TO GIVE TO SOMEBODY
4. YOU HAVE TO SERVE SOMEBODY
-Take some time this week and see where you have to adjust.
-Are you here to see how much you can get or how much you can give and invest and spend on life’s most important things?
-Solomon came to the right conclusion. Will you?