Wisdom is a Shelter

INTRODUCTION

THANK YOU

AD

Time away with Elijah, Kirsten in Kyrgyzstan

ECCLESIASTES

We are continuing in our study through the book of Ecclesiastes this morning by looking at Ecclesiastes Chapter 7 verses 1 through 14.

Scripture Journal / Guests

Big Idea: In our never-ending pursuit of fulfillment, we often convince ourselves that life would would be better if...

Better career, more money, new home, new car, new spouse,

Life can feel like were running on a treadmill that getting faster and faster but we still aren’t getting anywhere.

Ecclesiastes is an invitation to to press the emergency red button on the treadmill and stop and listen to the unconventional wisdom of the teacher.

Under the Sun

The Teacher

We step into the teacher’s classroom and find an old man. Lines on his face that tell untold stories. We sit a bit out of breath and listen, trying to figure out of the teacher brilliant or mad.

First Day: Vanity, everything is vanity - people come and people go… nothing changes, no one is remembered, we just do the same thing over and over again.

Pleasure: also meaningless. Those of you out there running on the treadmill of pleasure - from one relationship to another, one partner to another, one porn site to another, one tinder swipe to another - it’s all meaningless.

I had 700 wives and 300 concubines. - I’ve had more sex than all of you - meaningless, utterly meaningless

Work and Accomplishments - some of you were running on that treadmill weren’t you. I’ve accomplished more than you ever will. I planted forests, took 14 years to build my home, built houses for all 700 wives wives. Meaningless....

Don’t even get me started on money - I made over a trillion dollars a year (according to some calculations) but I can’t even count because silver and gold is more plentiful then stones in Jerusalem. Meaningless, vapor, vanity - none of it matters.

You won’t get anywhere running on these treadmill if your looking for meaning…

Vanity

He’s done it all

TODAY

We show up for class again today and the teacher seems to be in a different mood

Normally he’s pacing back and forth but today he’s quiet and reflective.

The classroom takes on a hushed tone as the teacher begins....

Let’s listen, and discuss what the teacher has to say this morning...

DEATH IS A TEACHER

PRAY

READ 4

Read a bit

Talk a bit

A GOOD NAME

Better than precious ointment

Character vs Appearance

Imagine stepping into the classroom of the wisest man on earth but you realize that you’ve just stepped off the treadmill. You’re sweaty, stinky, you’re hair is all out of place and matted to your face. You were running hard, chasing after the wind...

ve just stepped off

People then respond in different ways:

Some try to cover up their exhaustion with perfume, and nice clothes, a nice hairstyle, or well-groomed beard. They focus so much on their appearance that they pay no attention to their character.

People may say - oh, they’re beautiful but I can’t stand to be around them.

Others step into the classroom in pursuit of wisdom. They desire a good name, a good reputation. Their name means something to them.

Reputation - You are a McKenzie...

I inherit a reputation and will either add to it or take from it.

If you only care about appearing well this morning you will miss the entire point of the message. This passage is meant to dig beneath the surface and the teacher is like a surgeon this morning and wastes no time making the first cut.

DEATH IS A TEACHER

“Day of death better than the day of birth.”

At first glance we may miss the point

Too quickly assume the poor teacher is depressed and should talk to someone.

Why so bleek - so dark

Yet we discover wisdom in the teacher’s words

Potential vs Fulfillment

Birth - is all about potential

We’ve celebrated numerous new births in the church recently and this is truly a reason to celebrate.

I love newborns because they seem so fragile yet complex. I think of - God knitting the child together in the mother’s womb. The details of the face and hands. Life created by God to reflect his glory. It’s amazing

Yet - the conversation is often the same

Who they look like

How big or small they are

How they sleep

Parents pray for the children future with hopes and dreams

At this point - Parents can only pray for the child’s future with hopes and dreams. We pray they follow Jesus. That they become men or women who surrender their lives to him and follow him with every ounce of their being. Potential. Maybe

Death - is the fulfillment of life

Death has a way of focusing priorities.

Let me ask you this - imagine if you knew for certain that you were going to die this coming Saturday.

What would your week look like?

How would you treat your spouse, your children, your parents.

This is it - the end of the race is just around they corner - now what?

Who would you call this week? Who would you invite out for dinner?

What conversations would you have on Friday evening?

Death is deeper than just how we live. The last two verses in Ecclesiastes says, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgements, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

As christians, we realize that death is not the end. As we breathe our last breath we do not simply cease to exist. No, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgement” ()

Death not only causes focus but also purpose.

Death as end of life

One week to live...

Live like you were dying by Tim McGraw

Death & Judgement before God

“House of mourning is better than house of feasting”

“For this [DEATH] is the end of all mankind”

“The living will lay it to heart”

Repeated

“Sorrow is better than laughter for sadness has a refining influence on us” (7:3)

I read this verse this week and then called my grandmother - she’s in her 90s and she’s been pretty sick for the past 7 weeks. In one of those situations where you are thankful for everyday and aware the end is near.

We change our tone, our priorities - I stop working on my sermon. I call her to tell her I love her.

Awareness of the end changes us

“A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time” (7:4)

DISTRACTED BY FOLLY

These are the kids at the back of the class cracking jokes distracting you from what the teacher is trying to say. You know the ones - right? The snickers, undermining comments. Death has a serious and somber tone, his words have weight and seriousness to them but meanwhile, these 7 characters will try to distract you to turn your heart from thinking deeply.

FLATTERY: “Better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool” (7:5)

DEFLECTION: “A fool’s laughter is quickly gone...” (7:6)

POWER & MONEY: “Oppression/ Extortion drives the wise into madness/folly” (7:7)

“Bribes corrupt the heart”

We have the illusion of control...

PRIDE: “Patience is better than pride” - finishing is better than starting (7:8)

Boasting of ideas and possibilities vs slow and steady consistency that leads to completion.

Vaporware

New notebooks, containers...

Everything will be better when… I’ll be more productive, more loving, I’ll have more time for my family once...

People who work endlessly for retirement and then die before they can enjoy it.

ANGER: “Control your temper for anger labels you a fool” (7:9)

PERSPECTIVE: “Don’t long for the good old days. This is not wise” (7:10)

GOD IS INEVITABLE

If you are familiar with the Marvel movies, then you might remember the main villain, Thanos saying the infamous line, “I am inevitable.” Unavoidable, immovable...

In these final four verses, we see the Teacher’s concluding thoughts that God is ultimate.

Wisdom & Money

“Wisdom is better with money”

“Both are a benefit”

“Help you get almost anything”

“But only wisdom can save your life” (how)

Death is a reality for everyone

How are you living?

What will happen when you die?

God is final

“Accept what God does”

“Enjoy the journey”

Paul’s ups and down...

Paul says, “I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength” (-13).

Remember - nothing is certain except death and judgement

THE GOSPEL CONNECTION

The question is not just how are you living but what happens when you die.

LIFE IS UNCERTAIN

“ How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog - it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.”

JUDGEMENT FOLLOWS DEATH

“And just as each person is destined to die and once and after comes judgement, so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. “

JESUS IS LIFE

“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never die.”

TRUST IN JESUS

Though part of the

Jesus’ Death - Redemption Purchased/ Fulfilled

Jesus’ Death - Redemption Purchased/ Fulfilled

CONCLUSION

As Followers of Jesus

As Followers of Jesus

What does it mean to have a good name, a good reputation. We belong to God’s family...

In response to the truth

TREADMILL OF LIFE

What are you running after

Trying to acheive

Trying to control

What does it look like for you to step off the treadmill of life and listen to wisdom?

STEP INTO SOLOMON’S CLASSROOM

Don’t worry about how you look or smell

We will die (time is limited and unknown)

Let you heart seek wisdom to shape your character

Jesus paid the debt for our failures

LET THE REALITY OF DEATH HELP SHAPE YOUR HEART

Press on and persevere

“Endurance -> Strength of Character -> our confident hope of salvation.

How does a healthy perspective of death lead to wisdom?

Faith in the finished work (not future work but the past, completed work of Jesus)

WHAT IS TRYING TO DISTRACT YOU?

Flattery, Deflection, Power, Money, Pride, Anger, Perspective

How then will you live? Will you listen to the teacher or will you sit distracted in the back of the class joking around?

Which of the ‘7 Fools’ are trying the hardest to distract you?

WHO ARE YOU LOOKING TO?

Look to Jesus

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

How can you actively surrender to Jesus through this process?

PRAY