Holy Week 4/1/21 Cedar Grove Baptist

The Resurrected Christ is the Sustainer of Life

Ecclesiastes 3:1–3 KJV 1900

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up;

The book of Ecclesiastes the words of the Preacher or Teacher gives us a wisdom view of man’s comings and goings of his earthly stay and studies and gives the conclusion of his earthly accomplishments and gains and summarizes the ending value of it all as meaningless and unprofitable.

The ISV version: Ecc 1:1  The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 

Ecc 1:2  "Utterly pointless," says the Teacher. "Absolutely pointless; everything is pointless." 

Ecc 1:3  What does a man gain from all of the work that he undertakes on earth? 

Ecc 12:7  then man's dust will go back to the earth, returning to what it was, and the spirit will return to the God who gave it. 

Ecc 12:8  "Utterly pointless," says the Teacher. "Everything is pointless." 

However the Preacher concludes that what is of value is man’s vested life in God’s Law and the Kingdom of Heaven.

Ecc 12:13  Let the conclusion of all of these thoughts be heard: Fear God and obey his commandments, for this is what it means to be human. 

Ecc 12:14  For God will judge every deed, along with every secret, whether good or evil. 

So what is this that the Preacher has proposed? That the summation of all my accomplishments; my family pedigree, advanced educational achievements, career status, my financial portfolio, my social clubs and organization memberships, my political stand and even my church membership has the net value of meaningless.

Is this why Jesus asks us: What profits a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?

Let’s take it from the top.

Adam had it all to his disposal: He had the world at his order. God gave him dominion over all creatures, He had a food source that was organic and pesticide free, no sickness, no COVID-19, and to top it all off he had the opportunity to live forever as God had intended for man.

But Adam had to sin. God gave him a wife - Eve because he needed like human companionship…she believed the lying Serpent, Adam believed the deceived wife and then everyone died.

From that day until the coming of Jesus Christ every thing that was done under the sun concluded in worthlessness.

When man died he would be eternally devalued.

Death , Hell and the Grave was his perpetual end......Worthlessness.

My father always joked about an old blues song of his day to illustrate how people are deceived into doing those things that destroy their lives...

The old blues song punch line was “ go on and have some fun…be when you die you are dead and done”

The Preacher had stated that man’s living ended in meaningless, which only means that his dying was even more meaningless and of no eternal value.

But thank God for Jesus.

He came that we may have life and have it more abundantly....

Jesus began his ministry by reading Isaiah 61:1-3 when he entered into the synagogue of Galilee and make this proclamation:

Luk 4:18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 

Luk 4:19  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 

Jesus told the hearers that this day the scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

Go to the text: Lazarus had died and it has been four days...

Joh 11:21  Martha told Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 

Joh 11:22  But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, he will give it to you." 

Joh 11:23  Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise again." 

Joh 11:24  Martha told him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." 

Joh 11:25  Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The person who believes in me, even though he dies, will live. 

Joh 11:26  Indeed, everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe that?"