The End of the Matter

The End of the Matter A SECOND TRUTH: Truth can sting and guide us at the same time. The Great Shepherd is the one who gives us truth. Ecclesiastes 12:1-14 November 21, 2021 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. The Big Idea: We’re all growing older and will eventually die. It is important to turn to the Lord while we still can. Solomon’s discovery after his search for meaning in life is this: When all is said and done, God is the only One who can satisfy the human heart. Ecclesiastes 12 (ESV) 12 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— 5 they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— 6 before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity. AN OBVIOUS TRUTH THAT NEEDS THE ATTENTION OF US ALL: We Are All Growing Older and Need to Turn to God While We Still Can. Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 13 THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR ACCOUNTABILITY TO GOD: ü Unbelievers will be judged for their sins – the ultimate one being their rejection of Christ. [Romans 2:11-16; Revelation 20:11-15] ü Believers will stand perfect in Christ before the Lord by grace through faith, but accountable to Him for their lives. [Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15] 3 Questions: § Are you walking down any of the dead-ends that will only lead to grief and disappointment? § Have you experienced the truth revolution that will alter you whole being – that life doesn’t revolve around you, but around the Lord? § Are you keeping the commandments of the Lord (not to be saved, but because you’re saved)? 9 “The final message of Ecclesiastes is not that nothing matters but that everything does.” Philip Ryken