Sermon Tone Analysis
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The book of Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books of the Bible.
It has one of the greatest opening statements of wisdom ever written down.
“Everything is meaningless.
We will all die and be forgotten.”
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities!
All is vanity.
The book of Ecclesiastes gives us some perspective.
We are just a speck in the course of history.
Worse than that our hearts cannot be satisfied by anything under the sun.
We will all die and there will be a new generation that takes our place.
Time marches on.
We will die and be forgotten.
All the drama and worries of life are forgotten when we look at our lives with perspective.
Eternal perspective without eternal hope makes life a dreary burden.
there is nothing new under the sun.
It is all the same.
The same sins, the same world views, the same broken people and atrocities.
All these things will continue to happen as long as there is life under the sun.
The pursuit of Wisdom is Vanity
Knowledge and wisdom are not enough to satisfy.
There will always be more to learn and you will never be completely wise.
With wisdom comes the understanding of injustice and foolishness, but no matter how wise you become you can never get rid of them.
For every one wise person there are ten foolish people.
No amount of wisdom can make straight what has been made crooked by sin.
Wisdom is not the means by which the world is satisfied.
Chasing wisdom is like chasing after the wind.
If all life is, stuck under the sun than wisdom is a waste of time.
Life is about so much more than head knowledge.
Wisdom is better than foolishness but is still a waste of time.
When the preacher could not be satisfied with wisdom he turned to self-indulgence, but he found that this too is meaningless.
The pursuit of Self is Vanity
There was no pleasure that the preacher did not have.
He had multiple houses, vineyards, gardens, parks, fruit trees, slaves, herds and flocks, silver, gold, status, singers, even concubines.
He had everything this world could offer him and it did not satisfy.
He was the richest man in the world with incredible power yet this was all vanity.
Do not be deceived.
The world tells us we can be satisfied by serving ourselves but that is a lie.
We are never satisfied.
We will never have enough.
Maybe if I have a little more money, maybe if this person liked me back, maybe if I go to another party, maybe if I do this, maybe if I do that.
It can never satisfy us.
We will spend our entire lives chasing temporary high after temporary high only to find we have wasted our entire lives.
If we try to find purpose in this world it will only leave us with heartache.
If all is vanity what is the point?
Why try?
The preacher considers this.
If wisdom is folly, and foolishness is folly maybe it is better to waste my life as a wise man than waste my life as a foolish man.
Even in this he found it to be folly.
The wise man the fool, the rich man the poor man, all will die and be forgotten.
No amount of wealth, wisdom, or worth can slow the inevitable march of time.
We will all die.
The pursuit of Anything is Vanity
At this point you are probably thinking, you’ve done it Phillip this is the worst sermon you have ever preached.
But, I would like to continue to add to this depressing sermon by bringing up another problem that exists under the sun.
Not only will we live a meaningless, depressing life that will inevitably end in death.
There is also the problem of sin.
Our meaningless lives have also resulted in an eternal life of death, vanity, and separation from God because of sin.
That is much scarier than living a meaningless life.
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
-C.S. Lewis
Enter Jesus.
Vanity, vanity, all is vanity when you look for satisfaction under the sun.
The location of our searching determines the outcome
We cannot find satisfaction in this world.
That is why we must look beyond what is under the sun.
What does life look like when we look over the sun?
What if we looked for an eternal solution to our problem?
Life under the sun is vanity, but life over the sun is everlasting!
Why is it that Paul can say our lives are not in vain when the preacher of Ecclesiastes tells us our lives are vanity?
The Resurrection has given life purpose
The Creator has given life Value
Human life is not meaningless because it was created by God in His image.
We find our value and our purpose in God.
He has created us in His image, and He has given us purpose in this otherwise meaningless life.
Do you want to live a life that is worthwhile?
Turn from vanity and trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Follow Him and serve Him by loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love others as He has loved you.
Give glory to God in everything you do and you will find peace, joy, and hope in a world filled with vanity.
Are you living under the Sun, or are you living life under the Son?
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