Ecclesiastes 9 (3)
Notes
Transcript
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Announcements
Stephenie and I would like to invite you to our home on Saturday, November 21, between 5 and 7 PM for a Fall Frolic. You’ll be able to find additional details on the church calendar which you can find on the church website.
Lord’s Supper, Sunday morning, November 22
Thanksgiving Praise Service, Tuesday, November 24
December Seed Sowing Saturday, December 5
Philippians 2:1-11
Philippians 2:1-11
If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Missionary Updates
Missionary Updates
Ecclesiastes 9
Ecclesiastes 9
Turn to and read Ecclesiastes 9:11-18. Pray.
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
Here we go again. Solomon writes, “under the sun.” Every time he writes those words we need to be reminded of Solomon’s humanistic philosophy and perspective.
For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.
It is possible, even for a Christian, to develop a humanistic philosophy and perspective of life.
It is important for us to constantly guard against allowing our hearts to be turned away from God and turned toward other gods.
It is important that we love God with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all of our strength.
It is important that we whole-heartedly and completely follow after God.
Now, back to Ecclesiastes 9:11:
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
Solomon, in this verse, is saying,
Since the swift does not always win the race,
Since the strong do not always win the battle,
Since the wise do not always have bread,
Since men of understanding don’t always “get rich,”
Since men of skill aren’t 100% effective in the use of their skills…
Now, we understand that all of those statements are true. However, Solomon’s “take away” from this is...
Why try?
Why try?
(This seems to be completely opposite to what he wrote in vs. 10, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might...”)
Since there is no advantage to the swift, to the strong, to the wise, to men of understanding, or to men of skill why try? According to Solomon’s philosophy, life is all a matter of chance. To Solomon, there was no “rhyme nor reason” to life.
“In the end, each life is no more than the sum of contingent facts, a chronicle of chance intersections, of flukes, of random events that divulge nothing but their own lack of purpose.”
Paul Auster is an award winning novelist who is still alive today and influencing others through his writings.
Now, I will say this, “Why try?” would be a valid to ask if, indeed, “…time and chance happeneth to them all.”
And, if you leave God out of the equation, than, yes, time and chance is all that you are left with!
But, as Bible-believing Christians, we know that life is much more than simply “time and chance.”
Charles Coffin, is his history text, “The Story of Liberty,” which was published in 1879 and used for a time as the history textbook in the United States, wrote:
“There is still one other point: you will notice that while the oppressors have carried out their plans, and had things their own way, there were other forces silently at work, which in time undermined their plans, as if a Divine hand were directing the counter-plan. Whoever peruses the ‘Story of Liberty’ without recognizing this feature will fail of fully comprehending the meaning of history. There must be a meaning to history, or else existence is an incomprehensible enigma.”
“Men act freely in laying and executing their plans; but behind the turmoil and conflict of human wills there is an unseen power that shapes destiny...”
Coffin, Charles Carleton. The Story of Liberty (p. 3). Stingray. Kindle Edition.
If there is no God, than history has no meaning. If history has no meaning than our very existence is “an incomprehensible enigma.”
As Bible-believing Christians we understand that that “unseen power that shapes destiny” is God!
Take Joseph, for example. To look at the events of his life and the tragedy which he had to endure, you may be tempted to think, “Where was God?” However, Joseph said...
And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Also...
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Our life is so much more that simply “time and chance!” God is at work in our lives - in the events of mankind. God is always at work.
We may not always be able to see God at work in our lives, but He is.
We may not always understand how God is at work in our lives, but He is.
We may not always like how God is at work in our lives, but we should be thankful that He is!
And because of that...
We should run the race as swiftly as we can,
We should fight every battle with every ounce of strength which we can muster,
We should strive to be wise and to use that wisdom to make discerning choices in life,
We should seek to be men and women of understanding,
We should be skillful and use every skill we can to accomplish the tasks of life.
Because God is at work in our lives; because He is working all things together for good, we should do all to the glory of God!
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
I have been encouraged, the past couple of days, with the old Gospel song, “The Unseen Hand.”
There is an unseen hand to me, that leads thro’ ways I cannot see; while going thro’ this world of woe, this hand still leads me as I go.
I’m trusting to the unseen hand, that guides me thro’ this weary land; and some sweet day I’ll reach that strand, still guided by the unseen hand.
His hand has led thro’ shadows drear, and while it leads I have no fear; I know ‘twill lead me to that home, where sin or sorrow ne’er can come.
I’m trusting to the unseen hand, that guides me thro’ this weary land; and some sweet day I’ll reach that strand, still guided by the unseen hand.
I long to see my Saviour’s face and sing the story “Saved by Grace,” and there upon that golden strand, I’ll praise Him for His guiding hand.
I’m trusting to the unseen hand, that guides me thro’ this weary land; and some sweet day I’ll reach that strand, still guided by the unseen hand.
Life is not about time or chance; Life is all about God! Solomon had allowed sin to blind him to that truth!
For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
Man knoweth not his time
Man knoweth not his time
Solomon illustrates that statement by saying that fishes and birds never know when they will be caught…until they are caught!
In like manner, whether we apply this statement to death or to the unfortunate events of life, it is true…man knoweth not his time!
With that, allow me to apply this in two ways:
Are you prepared for death?
Are you prepared for death?
First of all, are you saved? Can you give a Bible reason for why you believe that you will spend eternity in Heaven.
Second, are you prepared to stand before God and give account of your life? Are you living each day as if it could be your last?
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: And because I will do this unto thee, Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, once preached a message based upon Amos 4:12. In that message he made this statement, when pondering why the Lord had directed him to preach on that text:
I believe the reason is because there are some here this morning who are now receiving the last warning they will ever have. I am solemnly persuaded that I have among my hearers and readers some to whom this feeble word of mine is no other than an arrow from the bow of the Almighty God.
Could it be that there are some here tonight - or listening by way of the live stream - who are receiving this warning for the last time? Man knoweth not his time…Are you prepared?
Are you prepared for tragedy?
Are you prepared for tragedy?
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: But the simple pass on, and are punished.
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; Consider her ways, and be wise:
Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Provideth her meat in the summer, And gathereth her food in the harvest.
There is a principle - the principle of preparation.
Now, place yourself in Job’ shoes. Turn to and read Job 1:12-22.
If tomorrow you face tragedy, will you respond in the same way as Job? “Blessed be the name of the Lord!”
If tomorrow you face tragedy, will you respond in the same way as Job? “What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?”
I can tell you this, Job’s responses were not accidental. He was prepared!
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
How can we prepare for tragedy?
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
To prepare for tragedy that could come at any time we must build ourselves upon the solid foundation of Jesus Christ and His Word. You will never regret the time that you spend in God’s Word - studying it and making it a part of your life. Memorizing and meditating upon God’s Word will yield returns that are beyond this world!
That is why Satan does all that he can to keep us from God and from God’s Word. Solomon allowed Satan to drive a wedge between him and God. As Solomon allowed that wedge to stay in his life, it only served to push him further from God!
Is there a wedge that has come between you and God? If so, tonight confess it to God before you find yourself “knee deep” in tragedy and woefully unprepared!
Prayer Request:
Prayer Request:
Prayers for the Stille Family in the death of Mr. George Stille.
Praise - Received word from Kristi Gordon. Her cancer shrunk about .5 cm and there is a defined space in between them.
Flooding in Honduras