Pt.6 Focus on the Main Thing
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF LIFE
“Focus on the MAIN Thing”
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
Who was Solomon?
TAKE GOD SERIOUSLY
Fear God – The “fear of the Lord” is that attitude of reverence and awe that His people show to Him because they love Him and respect His power and His greatness.
Oswald Chambers writes “The remarkable thing about fearing God is that, when you fear God, you fear nothing else; whereas, if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.”
Bill Gothard - The fear of the Lord: The continual awareness that God is watching and weighing every one of my thoughts, words, actions, and attitudes. (Proverbs 9:10)
The fear of God is not the same as saving faith.
Today, when there is so much emphasis on God’s love, grace, and mercy, is it possible that we have forgotten that God is to be feared?
We have replaced fear with complacency, ignorance, and apathy.
God takes our sin very seriously; therefore we need to take His holiness very seriously.
If we feared God it would affect our choices, we would live differently.
God’s Character – holy, righteous, just, unconditionally loving, never changing
READ - Isaiah 6:1-4
My Character – sinful, imperfect, selfish, greedy
REFER TO: Exodus 20:1-17
We don’t understand the bad news, we cannot meet those standards.
Ask yourself this question. Do I appreciate God’s holiness?
Ask yourself this question. Do I accept my own sinfulness?
What would happen if God showed up on this stage right now?
Would you greet Him by saying, “Hey God, it is so cool to see you?”
In his book, Knowledge of the Holy, A. W. Tozer writes:
Wherever God appeared to men in Bible times the results were the same—an overwhelming sense of terror and dismay, a wrenching sensation of sinfulness and guilt. When God spoke, Abraham stretched himself upon the ground to listen. When Moses saw the Lord in the burning bush, he hid his face in fear to look upon God. Isaiah’s vision of God wrung from him the cry, “Woe is me!”
READ – Isaiah 6:5-
Why did Isaiah respond that way? – Because we are now being placed in comparison to God.
OBEY GOD FAITHFULLY
The person who fears the Lord will pay attention to His Word and obey it.
He or she will not tempt the Lord by deliberately disobeying or by “playing with sin.
The Secret Life of an American Christian
When you first hear the title of ABC Family's new series - The Secret Life of an American Teenager, one might say-
Duh!
Seriously - don't most teenagers have somewhat of a secret life? That's like starting a new show called The Dysfunctional Lives of Hardened Criminals .
I'm not saying that it's cool to have a secret life, but it's just the way a boatload of 13-18 year olds decide to do things.
So in The Secret Life... we have a band girl getting pregnant, a SUPER Christian cheerleader, unhappy marriages, and a multitude of backstabbing betrayals and blistering banter.
In other words, pretty much like real life.
I wouldn't know how God feels about this show - He probably doesn't watch TV because He already knows what's coming anyway...but I do, however, know how God feels about the secret lives of Christian teenagers.
You know what I'm talking about, right? If not, let me lay it out for you:
Sunday morning
Whoa! Today is church, right? Yikes, I need to do some serious confessing so I don't, like, get struck by lighting or have a serious Bible dropped on my head from above. Oh, and I need to remember to activate the cussing filter and tell the youth leader how I've been praying and reading the Bible. Yeah, I'll confess that one too...later.
Monday-Friday
Yesssss. Back at school where some people know I'm a Christian, but I sure don't want to come off like some Jesus Freak or something. That's why I let the profanity fly when the situation demands it, judge others based on how they look, and c'mon - does Jesus really expect me to save sexual pleasure for marriage? Oh - and I'm definitely going to that party Friday night - even though I know my parents think I'm just out with friends. And even though there's going to be enough booze and drugs to supply a small nation...I'm just going so I can maybe talk to people about God...right?
Saturday
I guess I had fun...but why do I feel so guilty inside? Everybody is doing this secret life stuff, but nobody seems happy. I thought having a relationship with Christ was supposed to bring me joy and contentment, but all I'm getting is shame and loneliness.
Sunday morning
Whoa! Today is church, right? Yikes, I need to do some serious confessing so I don't, like, get struck by lighting or have a serious Bible dropped on my head from above...
And the pattern continues.
And this is the review that God is sending your way-
"I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, 'I am rich. I have everything I want. I don't need a thing!' And you don't realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked." (Revelation 3:15-17)
Get the point? A secret life is a 'lukewarm' life that dishonors God's name and makes Christianity a joke. But you already knew that, right?
The secret life of a Christian teenager is a fast track trip to the worst life possible.
Why? Well, people who aren't Christians live life apart from knowing the way God designed it. So partying and acting selfishly and choosing destructively come naturally for them.
But Christians are the only people on planet earth who have the Holy Spirit of God living inside them. And when we choose to live life contrary to God's design, we literally make God sick.
God has given us the resources needed to obey His commands.
When we choose not to follow Him and use His resources we are in essence telling Him that He is of no use to us.
- We can do it better on our own.
- Or what He has for us is not as good as what the world has to give us.
And for some strange reason we also think that we can live in a secret way that He will never know about.
We are cautioned to think about in verse 14 how He knows everything and we will be brought to judgment for that act.
God wants us to…
THINK ABOUT ETERNITY
We need to think about eternity because of the joy of our salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ and His forgiveness of our sin.
AND
We need to think of eternity in regards to our actions.
Six times in his discourse, Solomon told us to enjoy life while we can; but at no time did he advise us to enjoy sin. The joys of the present depend on the security of the future.
But for some strange reason we keep living for today’s pleasures and the security of today.
When you think about it, holding on to sinful patterns from our non-Christian days is madness and insanity.
Einstein defined 'crazy' as "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"
12:13 His final conclusion may give the impression that he has at last risen above the sun. He says, “Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man, man’s all.” But we must keep in mind that the fear of God here is not the same as saving faith. It is the slavish terror of a creature before His Creator. And the commandments do not necessarily mean the law of God as revealed in the OT. Rather they might mean any commands which God has instinctively written on the hearts of mankind.
In other words, we need not assign a high degree of spiritual insight to Solomon’s words. They may be nothing more than what a wise person would conclude from natural intuition and from practical experience.
This is man’s all—not just the whole duty but the basic elements that make for a full and happy life.
12:14 The motive for fearing and obeying God here is the certainty of coming judgment. We can be eternally grateful as believers that the Savior has delivered us from this kind of fear.
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 Jn. 4:18).
We do not trust and obey because of fear but because of love. Through His finished work on Calvary, we have the assurance that we will never come into judgment but have passed from death into life (John 5:24).
[1]
12:13. The book concludes (here is the conclusion of the matter) with an explicit recommendation to fear God and keep His commandments. These words were not added by someone other than Solomon, as is often claimed, but are the culmination of many other implicit references in Ecclesiastes to fear God and serve Him acceptably (cf. comments on 2:24-26; 7:15-18; 11:9-10; 12:1). Here Solomon said such reverence and service are everyone’s duty (nasb‘s “this applies to every person” is preferred to niv‘s this is the whole duty of man).
12:14. The fact that revering God is every person’s responsibility is underlined by the truth that God will bring every deed (every human act) into judgment (cf. 3:17; 11:9) including every hidden thing (cf. Matt. 10:26). Everyone is answerable to God for everything he does, whether obvious or concealed. Though this is often taken as referring to a future judgment after death, a comparison of Psalm 90:7-8 and a proper understanding of Ecclesiastes 2:24-26; 7:15-18; 11:9-10 show that this is doubtful. Though a future judgment after death is indeed the solution to the enigma Solomon had observed in the unequal distribution of justice in human history (cf. 7:15; 8:14), no evidence suggests that Solomon believed in such a judgment. Life after death was as enigmatic to him (cf. 11:8) as the unequal distribution of justice. His emphasis was on this life (“under the sun”) and its opportunities for service (cf. 9:10; 12:1-7) and enjoyment (cf. 2:24-26; 3:12, 22; 5:18-20; 8:15; 9:7-9; 11:7-10); he thought life after death offered no such opportunities (cf. 9:5-6, 10). Therefore he did not comment on any differences after death between the righteous and the wicked, the wise and the fools, man and beast.
Many other Scripture passages, of course, do point up the eternal blessings of the righteous and the eternal punishment of the wicked. Solomon lived on the other side of the Cross and in the comparative darkness of the progress of revelation; nevertheless he affirmed belief in God and in His justice (cf. 3:17; 8:12b-13). He was content to leave judgment, along with everything else, to God’s timing (3:17) for “He has made everything appropriate in its time” (3:11, nasb). So Solomon counseled his readers to enjoy life in the fear of God as God enables. Would that people who live on this side of the Cross would be as content as Solomon was to leave the enigmas of life in God’s hands, to serve Him acceptably, and to enjoy life as He enables!
[2]
4. Life is a stewardship: fear God (Ecc. 12:13–14)
We don’t own our lives, because life is the gift of God (Acts 17:24–28). We are stewards of our lives, and one day we must give an account to God of what we have done with His gift. Some people are only spending their lives; others are wasting their lives; a few are investing their lives. Corrie ten Boom said, “The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration but its donation.” If our lives are to count, we must fulfill three obligations.
Fear God (v. 13). Ecclesiastes ends where the Book of Proverbs begins (Prov. 1:7), with an admonition for us to fear the Lord. (See 3:14; 5:7; 7:18; and 8:12–13.) The “fear of the Lord” is that attitude of reverence and awe that His people show to Him because they love Him and respect His power and His greatness. The person who fears the Lord will pay attention to His Word and obey it. He or she will not tempt the Lord by deliberately disobeying or by “playing with sin.” An unholy fear makes people run away from God, but a holy fear brings them to their knees in loving submission to God.
“The remarkable thing about fearing God,” wrote Oswald Chambers, “is that, when you fear God, you fear nothing else; whereas, if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.” The prophet Isaiah says it perfectly in Isaiah 8:13, and the psalmist describes such a man in Psalm 112.
Keep His commandments (v. 13). God created life and He alone knows how it should be managed. He wrote the “manual of instructions” and wise is the person who reads and obeys. “When all else fails, read the instructions!”
The fear of the Lord must result in obedient living, otherwise that “fear” is only a sham. The dedicated believer will want to spend time daily in Scripture, getting to know the Father better and discovering His will. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7).
The last phrase in verse 13 can be translated “this is the end of man” (i.e., his purpose in life), or “this is for all men.” Campbell Morgan suggests “this is the whole of man.” He writes in The Unfolding Message of the Bible, “Man, in his entirety, must begin with God; the whole of man, the fear of God” (p. 228). When Solomon looked at life “under the sun,” everything was fragmented and he could see no pattern. But when he looked at life from God’s point of view, everything came together into one whole. If man wants to have wholeness, he must begin with God.
Prepare for final judgment (v. 14). “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked” (3:17). “But know that for all these God will bring you into judgment” (11:9, NKJV). Man may seem to get away with sin (8:11), but their sins will eventually be exposed and judged righteously. Those who have not trusted the Lord Jesus Christ will be doomed forever.
“The eternity of punishment is a thought which crushes the heart,” said Charles Spurgeon. “The Lord God is slow to anger, but when he is once aroused to it, as he will be against those who finally reject his Son, he will put forth all his omnipotence to crush his enemies.”
Six times in his discourse, Solomon told us to enjoy life while we can; but at no time did he advise us to enjoy sin. The joys of the present depend on the security of the future. If you know Jesus Christ as your Saviour, then your sins have already been judged on the cross; and “there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1 and see John 5:24). But if you die having never trusted Christ, you will face judgment at His throne and be lost forever (Rev. 20:11–15).
Is life worth living? Yes, if you are truly alive through faith in Jesus Christ. Then you can be satisfied, no matter what God may permit to come to your life.
“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12, NKJV).
You can receive life in Christ and—be satisfied!
[3]
Job 28:28 And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”
Ps 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
Prov 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Prov 2:4–6 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
Prov 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Prov 15:33 The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility.
Eccl 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.
[4]
Someone Once Said …
• When you fear God, you have nothing else to fear.—Anonymous
• He feared man so little, because he feared God so much.—inscription to Lord Lawrence in Westminster Abbey
• This phrase “the fear of the Lord” occurs over and over and over. I was really surprised to find more than three hundred references in the Old Testament that speak of the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is reverential trust and hatred of evil, and there you have the whole thing.—William Anderson
• The fear of God is … astonished reverence. I believe that the reverential fear of God mixed with love and fascination and astonishment and admiration and devotion is the most enjoyable state and the most satisfying emotion the human soul can know.—A. W. Tozer
• Christian, let God’s distinguishing love to you be a motive to you to fear Him greatly. Remember that this fear of the Lord is His treasure, a choice jewel.—John Bunyan, in The Fear of God
• The fear of the Lord: The continual awareness that God is watching and weighing every one of my thoughts, words, actions, and attitudes. (Proverbs 9:10)—Bill Gothard
[5]
A Fountain of Life
In his book, Knowledge of the Holy, A. W. Tozer writes: In olden days men of faith were said to “walk in the fear of God” and to “serve the Lord with fear.” However intimate their communion with God, however bold their prayers, at the base of their religious life was the conception of God as awesome and dreadful. This idea of God transcendent runs through the whole Bible and gives color and tone to the character of saints. This fear of God was more than a natural apprehension of danger; it was a nonrational dread, an acute feeling of personal insufficiency in the presence of God the Almighty.
Wherever God appeared to men in Bible times the results were the same—an overwhelming sense of terror and dismay, a wrenching sensation of sinfulness and guilt. When God spoke, Abraham stretched himself upon the ground to listen. When Moses saw the Lord in the burning bush, he hid his face in fear to look upon God. Isaiah’s vision of God wrung from him the cry, “Woe is me!” Daniel’s encounter with God was probably the most dreadful and wonderful of them all.
Conversely, the self-assurance of modern Christians, the basic levity present in so many of our religious gatherings, the shocking disrespect shown for the Person of God, are evidence enough of deep blindness of heart. Many call themselves by the name of Christ, talk much about God, and pray to Him sometimes, but evidently do not know who He is. “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,” but this healing fear is today hardly found among Christian men.
[6]
Fear of God?
The Hebrew midwives had a healthy fear of God (Ex. 1:21), a fear that enabled them to risk Pharaoh’s wrath. They are a good example of what Christ told His disciples years later about not being afraid of those who kill the body, but rather to fear “Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell” (Luke 12:4–5). That fear of the Lord gave them courage, direction, and motivation to make tough choices and live with godly behavior.
Today, when there is so much emphasis on God’s love, grace, and mercy, is it possible that we have forgotten that God is to be feared? He takes our sin very seriously; therefore we need to take His holiness very seriously. We need not cringe in horror, as though God were a tyrant who delights in punishing us. But neither should we wink at sin as though He were a kindly grandfather who laughs at a little mischief. As both the Egyptians and the children of Israel found out, “our God is a consuming fire” (Deut. 4:24).
[7]
Matthew 5:23-24
So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
The Secret Life of an American Christian
When you first hear the title of ABC Family's new series - The Secret Life of an American Teenager, one might say-
Duh!
Seriously - don't most teenagers have somewhat of a secret life? That's like starting a new show called The Dysfunctional Lives of Hardened Criminals .
I'm not saying that it's cool to have a secret life, but it's just the way a boatload of 13-18 year olds decide to do things.
So in The Secret Life... we have a band girl getting pregnant, a SUPER Christian cheerleader, unhappy marriages, and a multitude of backstabbing betrayals and blistering banter.
In other words, pretty much like real life.
I wouldn't know how God feels about this show - He probably doesn't watch TV because He already knows what's coming anyway...but I do, however, know how God feels about the secret lives of Christian teenagers.
You know what I'm talking about, right? If not, let me lay it out for you:
Sunday morning
Whoa! Today is church, right? Yikes, I need to do some serious confessing so I don't, like, get struck by lighting or have a serious Bible dropped on my head from above. Oh, and I need to remember to activate the cussing filter and tell the youth leader how I've been praying and reading the Bible. Yeah, I'll confess that one too...later.
Monday-Friday
Yesssss. Back at school where some people know I'm a Christian, but I sure don't want to come off like some Jesus Freak or something. That's why I let the profanity fly when the situation demands it, judge others based on how they look, and c'mon - does Jesus really expect me to save sexual pleasure for marriage? Oh - and I'm definitely going to that party Friday night - even though I know my parents think I'm just out with friends. And even though there's going to be enough booze and drugs to supply a small nation...I'm just going so I can maybe talk to people about God...right?
Saturday
I guess I had fun...but why do I feel so guilty inside? Everybody is doing this secret life stuff, but nobody seems happy. I thought having a relationship with Christ was supposed to bring me joy and contentment, but all I'm getting is shame and loneliness.
Sunday morning
Whoa! Today is church, right? Yikes, I need to do some serious confessing so I don't, like, get struck by lighting or have a serious Bible dropped on my head from above...
And the pattern continues.
And this is the review that God is sending your way-
"I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, 'I am rich. I have everything I want. I don't need a thing!' And you don't realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked." (Revelation 3:15-17)
Get the point? A secret life is a 'lukewarm' life that dishonors God's name and makes Christianity a joke. But you already knew that, right?
The secret life of a Christian teenager is a fast track trip to the worst life possible.
Why? Well, people who aren't Christians live life apart from knowing the way God designed it. So partying and acting selfishly and choosing destructively come naturally for them.
But Christians are the only people on planet earth who have the Holy Spirit of God living inside them. And when we choose to live life contrary to God's design, we literally make God sick.
That's why when He sees the secret lives of Christian teenagers, He wants to 'spit you' out of His mouth!
When you think about it, holding on to sinful patterns from our non-Christian days is madness and insanity.
Einstein defined 'crazy' as "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results" - and isn't that the plot line for The Secret Life of a Christian Teenager ?
Haven't we figured out by now that breaking God's commands and rebelling against His will always trashes your life and those around you?
----
[1]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Ec 12:13). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[2]Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (1:1006). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3]Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1990). Be satisfied (Ec 12:13). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
[4]MacArthur, J. (1999). The MacArthur topical Bible : New King James Version (846). Nashville, Tenn.: Word Pub.
[5]Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson's complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) (301). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[6]Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson's complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) (302). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[7]Thomas Nelson Publishers. (2001). What does the Bible say about-- : The ultimate A to Z resource fully illustrated. Nelson's A to Z series (155). Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson.
