Ecc Sermon Week 2.2

God loves us too much to allow us to enjoy his gifts apart from him

Intro/Welcome

The pursuit of meaning in pleasure, productivity, possession and the pursuit of wisdom

Matthew 16:27 CSB

27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done.

Pray

Hevel in life’s pursuits

Last week we saw that Solomon was setting out on a quest to answer this question:

Ecclesiastes 1:3 (CSB)

3 What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?

He said this:

Ecclesiastes 1:13 (CSB)

13 I applied my mind to examine (word) and explore (word) through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.

Today

Today we begin to look at how we went about this task

and we’ll look at 4 pursuits in particular:

Pleasure, Possession, Productivity and the pursuit of wisdom.

Pleasure

Ecclesiastes 2:1 CSB

1 I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile.

Ecclesiastes 2:10 CSB

10 All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.

Solomon pursued pleasure with intensity, to the extreme

Ways that we pursue pleasure

Sex and sexual pleasure

we are a sex addicted culture

pornography is rampant

marriage is under fire / fidelity is under fire

massive sexual confusion — no one knows who they are anymore

why? — no fear of god, no knowledge of God

LGBT lego set

The human will gone wild

All the sexual expression and gender expressions are all hebel

nothing is going to fill you

Wisdom says — God is the only one.

This is all a futile effort and many are going to be harmed

when a culture moves away from God eventually people start to die and are treated as less than human. — sooner or later.

“food and drink”

— The phrase “eat and drink” is symbolic of the good life and its pleasures (WBC)

Food: Buffet’s, Gourmet Food, gorging, gluttony

How much money is spent on food and drink?

Drink

milkshakes, coke, sugary drinks, coffee, Starbucks

alcoholic drinks (for pleasure) / that taste good

energy drinks

Thrill Seeking

risky behavior, theme parks, rollercoasters

Entertainment

movies, gaming, netflix etc., music, comedy, sports

We are addicted to the pursuit of pleasure

Laughter

Ecclesiastes 2:2 CSB

2 I said about laughter, “It is madness,” and about pleasure, “What does this accomplish?”

Alcohol

Ecclesiastes 2:3 CSB

3 I explored with my mind the pull of wine on my body—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—and how to grasp folly, until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

Possessions

The things you own end up owning you.

Ways we accumulate things:

Stuff & storage units

Houses, cars, phones, gadgets, watches

iPads, iPhones, laptops, tablets

Build

We build bigger houses, gardens, home improvement projects

We buy new cars, better cars

my old crappy car

We need the latest tech b/c of FOMO

We build our image, our brand and have to sustain it (hevel)

Possess people

We need more friends, more likes, more notifications, more messages

We need to keep up our image.

Possess money (we are possessed by money)

we invest money to grow our portfolios

we try get rich schemes, we are taken advantage of

We stress and obsess over finances

will we have enough?

We find out worth in our money, how much we have in the account

I built

Ecclesiastes 2:4–6 CSB

4 I increased my achievements. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made gardens and parks for myself and planted every kind of fruit tree in them. 6 I constructed reservoirs for myself from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees.

I accumulated

People

Ecclesiastes 2:7 CSB 7 I acquired male and female servants and had slaves who were born in my house.

Ecclesiastes 2:8 CSB 8 ...I gathered male and female singers for myself, and many concubines, the delights of men.

Livestock

Ecclesiastes 2:7 CSB ...I also owned livestock—large herds and flocks—more than all who were before me in Jerusalem.

Money

Ecclesiastes 2:8 CSB 8 I also amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces...

Summary

Ecclesiastes 2:9–10 CSB

9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom also remained with me. 10 All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.

reward meaning — this life sucks so i might as well have a drink. coping with alcohol

Conclusion

Ecclesiastes 2:11 CSB

11 When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

Solomon in all of his pursuits in nearly unlimited and unrestrained indulgence concludes that it is all hebel.

We are addicted to the pursuit of pleasure, “give and give” says the leech.

Proverbs 30:15 CSB

15 The leech has two daughters: “Give, Give!” Three things are never satisfied; four never say, “Enough!”:

Ecclesiastes 1:8 CSB

8 All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing.

The Pursuit of Wisdom

Ecclesiastes 1:16–18 CSB

16 I said to myself, “See, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge.” 17 I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind. 18 For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases.

the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom

will we understand? The folly of secular thinking.

We will never understand.

Ecclesiastes 2:12 CSB

12 Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the king’s successor be like? He will do what has already been done.

Conclusion #1 — Adv of Wisdom

Ecclesiastes 2:13–14 CSB 13 And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness. 14 The wise person has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness...

Wisdom will generally allow you to avoid some unnecessary pain in this life

It is better to see where you are going than to not.

Wisdom — defined as trying to understand and figure out life

Secular wisdom doesn’t answer the ‘why’

leaves you wanting

is inconsistent and self serving

ultimately is decieved

False religions

man’s attemps to understand God and ultimately subdue God

to make God in their image, rather than being made in his.

This will all fail — hebel.

So these ‘ungodly’ pursuits of wisdom provide some benefit, but not eternal.

Conclusion #2 — Yet

Ecclesiastes 2:14–17 CSB ...Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both. 15 So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?” And I said to myself that this is also futile.

16 For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise person dies just like the fool?

17 Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Yet we will all die, wise, foolish, rich and poor, known and unknown

Death is the great equalizer

All the wisdom in the world will not save you in the next life, salvation only comes through God.

False religions may help you walk better but in the end will not save you.

Productivity

We want to build a legacy, something that lasts

we think we will be remembered for that.

Ecclesiastes 2:18–23 CSB

18 I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun because I must leave it to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile. 20 So I began to give myself over to despair concerning all my work that I had labored at under the sun. 21 When there is a person whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a person who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong. 22 For what does a person get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors at under the sun? 23 For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

how many corporate executive are feeling this? how many of you are?

sleepless nights? anxiety? to succeed to get it right?

why? you’ll have to leave to someone who will destroy it.

Why are we working so hard?

to build what? to leave what behind?

You cant’ take anything with you.

naked I came, and naked I will go.

And what you leave behind won’t be respected, won’t be appreciated.

it will likely be squandered.

The worth of money is seen in what it took to earn it.

This is why unearned wealth actually does more harm.

there is no appreciation of the blood, sweat and tears it took to earn it, to build it.

this is hebel.

Example of squandering wealth, business, inheritance from culture

The addict’s abuse of money and stuff / brent’s story

Redeeming the Hevel

Enjoying God’s Gifts and the gift of enjoyment

what are some of your fondest memories?

Me and Seattle,

apart of a fast growing church, that did al ot of things.

My fondest memories are the achievements but being with the people that meant the most to me (community group together), around the table

around good food and drink.

life long friendships, i’ll never forget those

they are a glimpse of heaven

Call to Groups mention new groups.

Ecclesiastes 2:24–25 CSB

24 There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand, 25 because who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from him?

So what is worth it?

The best times i’ve had, the most memorable:

a good time, with good friends, around a table with good food and drink.

This is priceless — this is the true gift.

Different cultures and how they use time / community

Enjoying what you do for work — this is a gift.

you don’t work to live, you live to work

Redeemed sexual pleasure

marriage and the potential for frequent, free and fun sex. this is a gift from God.

when we do things in the right way, for the right reasons, from a right heart.

gospel — intrusion — this is what redeems things.

Pleasure, possessions, productivity and the pursuyit of wisdom and knowledge are not bad things— they are good things

they are gifts from God to be enjoyed

but cannot be enjoyed apart from Him

Summary Conclusion

Ecclesiastes 2:26 CSB

26 For to the person who is pleasing in his sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Who is pleasing in his sight?

Jesus Christ

Matthew 3:17 CSB

17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”

Colossians 3:17 CSB

17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Galatians 2:20 CSB

20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Through and in Jesus we then get wisdom, knowledge and joy.

Romans 14:17 CSB

17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

But for those who are not ‘pleasing’ that is outside of God’s saving work in Christ

all that we have will be given to the righteous

this is the ultimate inheritance of the earth by the saints

One day, all will be ours.

This means we can enjoy the simple things of life and not be lured by the temptation of worldly pursuits outside of God

we can purse God and enjoy his gifts — we get both in this life and the next

rather than purse his gifts in worldly ways and get neither in this life or the next

Relationships give joy! we can have those anywhere no matter the status, possessions, or wealth — this is the simplicity of God’s system

Yet it also means we can forsake earthly pleasure b/c we believe the gospel

we can lose now, b/c Jesus won for us and ultimately we win.

Gospel Call

This really matters b/c heaven and hell are real.

outside of God — This life is a close to heaven as you get

with God — this life is as close to hell as you get.

Decide now today, and enter into an eternal relationship with eternal joy awaiting you.

Redeem your time, your pursuits, your possessions, your productivity, your pleasure.

1 Corinthians 15:58 CSB

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

sports