Ecclesiastes 10 (2)
Notes
Transcript
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This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Ecclesiastes Chapter 10
Ecclesiastes Chapter 10
Before I begin the message tonight, I’d like to share with you a quote from Daniel Webster, one of our country’s greatest statesmen - not politician - who served in Congress and as Secretary of State for two presidents:
“If the power of the Gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness will reign without mitigation or end.”
Turn to and read Ecclesiastes 10:1-6. Pray.
Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.
I would like to share, again, what one commentator said of this particular verse:
Solomon was at the place in his life after he had studied everything, mostly the things he had done personally, and in his great despair he was thinking about a mixture that could be ordered by doctors from the local apothecary that could hasten his death. He was the king! He could order a potion himself, a potion made from oil infested with the parasites deposited by the tsetse flies. No one would know. The death would be fairly sudden. It would look like a natural death! But, it would not be natural. It would be suicide. In the Jewish culture, it would be an abomination. If the apothecary let the word out that Solomon had ordered a special potion, all of the king’s wisdom, life, and work would be abhorred. The people would think of Solomon with loathsome thoughts after he was dead and buried. What would they write on his tombstone?
Philips, John; Hastings, Jim. Exploring Ecclesiastes (John Phillips Commentary Series) . Kregel Academic & Professional. Kindle Edition.
In other words, the only thing that kept Solomon from following through with this course of action was his reputation; what would people think of him?
Choosing not to commit suicide was the right decision but he made the choice for the wrong reason.
Why do you make the decisions that you do?
Why do you make the decisions that you do?
Our decisions should not be based upon how they will affect our reputation; what others will think of us. Instead, our decisions should be based upon Biblical truth and that truth is found throughout Scripture:
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
Our decisions should be made with the motivation of bringing glory to God!
Our reason for living should be to bring glory to God!
Our reason for living should be to bring glory to God!
That is our chief end in life. We are to consciously devote ourselves to live to the praise of God's glory. We judge everything as to whether it serves that end. If it doesn't then we must abandon it and get on with something that does.
Life is too short for us to be entangled in stuff that doesn't bring glory to God. (And that’s exactly what Solomon found himself wrapped up in; “stuff” that didn’t bring glory to God. He was only concerned about his own reputation. Our chief end is not the good of humanity. That is too man-centered to be our great goal.
Our end is to display the glory of God in the eyes of the world, that is, to overcome men's prejudices about God, to show why he is so glorious, to magnify that glory to the heights of heaven.
Think of this: God is already glorious. He has been infinitely and eternally glorious.
No one created by God can make him more glorious than he is already.
No one created by God can make him more glorious than he is already.
But God's plan is that we reflect and display his glory both in this world and the world to come. Jesus said:
I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
That is how we can be to the praise of his glory.
As Christians, we all have work to do as, say,
students, or as
employees, or as
homemakers, or as
neighbours, as
brothers or sisters, as
people involved in our culture and society, as
those who have some influence great or small, and
in every place and in all we do we are to glorify God.
A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left.
We see in this verse a simple comparison between the wise and the fool.
In the Bible, the right hand always pictures skill, strength, power, protection, and blessing.
On the other hand…a fool’s heart is like the clumsiness of the left hand. It gives the picture of being the exact opposite of the right hand.
There is no comparison between the wise and the foolish.
There is no comparison between the wise and the foolish.
The benefits of wisdom far outweigh the supposed pleasures of the foolish. We can easily see this comparison in the first nine chapters of the book of Proverbs.
Turn to and read Proverbs chapter 9.
Choose Wisdom. Choose Biblical Truth.
Choose Wisdom. Choose Biblical Truth.
Wisdom is built upon the foundation of Biblical Truth.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: And the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.
Fools are easily identified.
Fools are easily identified.
They are identified by the decisions which they make.
They are identified by the company which they keep.
They are identified by the speech which they use.
They are identified by their attitude.
They are identified by their actions.
The proverb means that a fool walks like one, speaks like one, and acts like one at all times. Even when a fool tries to say or do something smart, his words and actions show his ignorance.
Philips, John; Hastings, Jim. Exploring Ecclesiastes (John Phillips Commentary Series) . Kregel Academic & Professional. Kindle Edition.
“…and he (the fool) saith to every one that he is a fool.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, what are you saying to others?
Ladies and Gentlemen, what are you saying to others?
Actions speak louder than words! Are you saying to others that you are a fool or that you are wise?
I believe that what we saw in our capitol this afternoon was a demonstration, by many, of foolishness.
If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.
“If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee...”
One of the ways in which our foolishness or wisdom is seen is in how we respond to correction.
One of the ways in which our foolishness or wisdom is seen is in how we respond to correction.
There are going to be times when I, if I am preaching the truth of God’s Word, am going to step on your toes.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
No one likes correction. However when a foolish person is corrected or criticized by a leader or ruler (or pastor), they often will pack up and leave.
However, Solomon here in this verse, by use of a “deliberate wordplay,” encourages such individuals to stay put!
The phrases, “leave not thy place” and “for yielding” are the same Hebrew words which mean, “stay settled.” For emphasis, Solomon repeats, “Stay put!”
Pastor David Sorenson says, “To this day, weak [and foolish] Christians will often leave a church because the pastor steps on their toes or brings them under conviction because of sin or compromise in their lives. The advice of Solomon is to stay put and submit yourself to leadership.”
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler:
Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.
These two verses go hand in hand.
Folly is set in great dignity!
Folly is set in great dignity!
I believe that this can been seen - by many people - in the example that can been in the lives of most politicians today.
For example: The amount of money that our politicians agreed to give to foreign governments in the passage of the latest Consolidated Appropriations Act when our country doesn’t have the money to begin with!
However, nowhere are these verses more readily seen than in the fact that evolution has been set in great dignity!
Turn to and read Romans 1:22-32.
“Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools!”
The truth - as Romans 1:25 refers to - is that, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth!”
The truth - as Romans 1:25 refers to - is that, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth!”
And yet, this error - evolution - has been set in great dignity in the public educational institutions in our country. Every child, who attends a public school, is being indoctrinated with the error of evolution. This is a prime example of why the ministry of South Charlotte Baptist Academy is so needed and so important. We are seeking to ground our students in the truth. We want the truth to be set in great dignity!
Prayer Requests
Prayer Requests
Bill Crawford’s brother-in-law passed away. Pray for Bill’s sister, Angela.
Bill Crawford will be having cataract surgery next month (on both eyes).
Continue to pray for the residents of the Laurel’s and the Haven’s. COVID cases are continuing to rise.
Pray for the family of Elayne Wilson’s cousin, Reba, who has passed away. She had an infection which was not responding to any antibiotics.
Pray my Uncle Denny. He is in a coma. While I do not know the specific details, I believe that it has to do with his diabetes. (Denny is my dad’s youngest brother.)
Katy Heater’s dad is dealing with a pericarditus (an infection and inflammation of the pericardial membrane that encases his heart). Came from from the hospital yesterday and is on antibiotics.
Katy Heater’s grandmother, Nancy Evitts, (Mom's mom) was found to have significant amount of blood in in her urine yesterday. Most likely a severe Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
Tana Christian has a sore throat and headache.
Mrs. Sagoe (Academy parent) - I am asking prayers for my mum who has been diagnosed with diabetes. She has been in and out of the hospital due to frequent spikes of her glucose level.
Please pray for Patricia Gordon. She has Covid, This is Cameron and Liam's grandmother. Pray that Charlie does not get it. So far she has just had flu like symptoms.