"Nothing New"

“Nothing New”

Introduction: When you begin to think about life, have you ever thought about the repetition of it all. Wake up. Eat. Drink coffee. Wash and get dressed. Get the kids ready for school. Go to work. Come home. Eat. Go to sleep. Rinse and repeat. Pay the bills every month. No wonder we try to inject some large expensive experiences to try to overcome it all. But have you ever thought, what is this all for? What value and purpose does this bring? Of course, we can come to some legitimate answers, but I think we can all say that we’ve probably had that thought here and there. The Preacher begins to put life on trial, all of our toil under the sun. He’s going to ask the questions that sometimes we are afraid to, and then give us an answer. READ PASSAGE.

CTS: Living under the sun is given meaning when we live our lives in God.

The main thrust of this passage is verse 3. It asks the question, coming after the heals of verse 2, this verse then asks a question that is then continually answered throughout the book. What do we gain in all our toil in this life? Toil means labor, but it also can have a negative connotation in the Hebrew. This is important, for the Preacher wants to frame this in this unexpected wisdom voice that life really is just ungainful work across the whole spectrum. Everything is futile and this is nothing new...

The Preacher Highlights...

I. Our Toil Under the Sun (Ecc 1:4-8)

A. Nature Itself Testifies to Toil

The going and passing of generations tells us that life is forgotten. Verse 4 and 11 match together under this theme. Each generation is not something special, greater or better than the generation before and after. Even the greatest and most-well known people of each generation eventually get forgotten. Illustration: Young people don’t know about your generation’s stars, you don’t know my generation’s stars, and I don’t know this current generation’s stars.

The cyclical nature of creation testifies life is temporary. The sun rises and sets, regardless of who lives and dies. And it will continue to do so, even when we are gone. The wind, though it may seem more free than anything else in nature, it subject to its currents. It goes around and comes around, and nothing stops it. This reminds us the ruts of life, and ultimately, that the world doesn’t revolve around me.

The rivers and sea shows that there is never any satisfaction. No matter how much a river flows into the sea, it is never filled. Yes, we understand now about the water cycle. That’s not the point, because even then, that shows out futility. Coupled with verse 8, we see nature testifies to toil and dis-satisfaction.

B. Our Toil is Weariness

Do you see it? Verse 8 is a culmination of this toil. Nature reminds us that life is mere weariness. Generations pass. Nature goes on.

We are never satisfied “under the sun.” Life focused on trying to gain some kind of purpose, some meaning, outside of God is merely toil. It is meaningless. It is weariness. You can never see enough. You can never hear enough. You will never experience it all and cannot experience it all. You can never get to the point of total satisfaction, in all your toil, under the sun.

II. Nothing is New Under the Sun (Ecc 1:9-11)

A. We Think We’re Special (9-10)

The crux of this passage I think can be summed up with verses 8 and 9. Satisfaction is contingent upon our view of the world. We must understand that life “under the sun” is this: It is what it is, and it is what it will be.

We tend to think that we are the great arbiters of change, that we are going to bring about great change in our society. That’s a message I often hear all over, and every generation thinks that they’re generation is the best. It’s either, it was better back then, or we are making things much better than back then.

The Preacher reminds us, that there is nothing new. Though technology has advanced greatly, we are still sinful and selfish. We are still going to war. We are still divided as ever. Why? We live in a fallen world, “under the sun” mentality. We live in a world that tells us that all that matters is this stuff in the world and tries to remove any meaning in God himself. If you think your current presidential candidate is going to bring something new to the table, he won’t. He’s like every other fallen human being. The next greatest invention won’t save us. We all will die, and the world will carry on. “Under the sun,” without God, we are nothing special.

B. We Forget Easily (11)

Speaking of dying, we forget so easily those before us. And we will be forgotten too. We tend to forget very easily as human beings. That’s why we often have to have repetition.

We forget out past, and guess what, the next generation will forget us. No one is exempt. History marches on. The question is, where do we put the value? Remember, nothing is new under the sun. Where are we investing? Solely under the sun, or above the sun?

III. All Made New (Jer 31:31-34, Col 3:1-4, Rom 6:4, Rev 21:5)

A. The Promise of New Life (Jer 31:31-34, Rom 6:4)

The Preacher purposefully puts us into the position, the challenging and sometimes outright depressing view of the world. He wants us to struggle. He wants us to really see the meaningless ways of life “under the sun” without God. He’s real. He’s speaking to the hungers, heartaches and heartbreaks of our soul. He speaks to what we don’t often want to talk about. Even for Christians, this is something we need to deal with. We often feel these things still. And that’s ok. God’s not afraid. God meets us and goes there with us.

There’s the promise of new life in the midst of this meaningless “under the sun” life. When we orient ourselves toward the admonition of “Fear God and keep His commandments,” God promises to His people that there will be the offer of new life. READ Jer 31:31-34. “31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” New life is knowing God, and life in God is made possible through the new covenant that is written on our hearts. How is it written on our hearts and how is this life made possible?

This new life is made possible from the one who came from above the sun to below the sun, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Read Romans 6:4. 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. As Christ died, he takes the meaningless, the fallenness of our existence and redeems it, and makes it new. This is the Gospel. Jesus comes and makes us new under the sun. That then gives meaning and purpose to our lives. Family, work, play, relationships, are all in God and are toward the purpose to glorify God. Even the seemingly meaningless and difficult days we all experience become part this new life. Yes, we cry out, why? And we should. But we also trust God, maybe not knowing the reason, but knowing His plan is greater than ours. We now live new lives.

B. Living the New Life (Colossians 3:1-4)

So then life becomes purposeful. Meaningful. We set our minds on things that are above, and not on things that are on the earth Read Col 3:1-4. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. We remember what Christ says about keeping our eyes under the sun and realize that if we were to gain the whole world, it doesn’t profit. We don’t gain anything. We actually lose, forfeit our souls (Mark 8:36). For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? We are dead to our old selves, and raised to walk in newness of life. Our baptism shows how we die to the “under the sun” mentality and now we live our “under the sun” lives with an “above the sun” attitude, made possible by Jesus Christ.

Paul reminds us that this new life this new life in God, through Christ, gives us great purpose. Kingdom mindset, the transformative power of the gospel then affirms what he says in 1 Cor 15:58. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

C. Waiting for Glorification (Rev 21:4-5)

This new life doesn’t mean there isn’t any pain that lingers. It doesn’t mean we won’t struggle. We will still experience the struggles and wonder at times, God, are you really working right now? Where are you? Why is this happening right now.

But in this, we can rest assured and trust in the promise that everything we truly be made new. The Preacher points us to “there is nothing new under the sun.” The Gospel then takes that and tells us, from above the sun, Jesus will redeem all things and make all things new. Read Rev 21:4-5 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Conclusion:

This under the sun life is given meaning in God. God is not absent. He has not forgotten us. He is not beholden, stuck in rut, always repeating mistakes. No, he enters into the broken system, the broken creation to restore Eden, to restore meaning to His creation, and that includes you and me. You may struggle with some things. Maybe you feel like you are too broken, and that everything is meaningless, and you can’t escape it. Let me plead with you today that there is hope in Jesus. He promises to restore us, give us meaning. He hears us, He hurts with us, and He puts that on Himself. That doesn’t mean we escape it when we trust Him, at least not yet, but we now have someone who is there, to hear us, to save us, to redeem us, and to show us our true meaning, no matter how broken we are. He gives us gain in Himself, and we no longer toil in vain. He gives us new life that begins now and promised in full we He rules and reigns again over all things.