What's the Point?

Intro

- Illustration- listen to a child tell a story- “Get to the point!”

- In this final chapter Solomon ties things up and brings us to the main point

o He’s covered a lot in these 12 chapters

§ We’ve seen that life is meaningless under the Sun

§ The emptiness of pursuing pleasure

§ The emptiness of accumulating wealth and possessions

§ The futility of work and even wisdom itself apart from God

§ But we’ve also seen that God has given us so many good gifts that he wants us to enjoy- food and drink, relationships, work, etc.

o But ultimately nothing in this world can bring us true satisfaction, true fulfillment… nothing.

§ Yet most people, including many Christians, spend much if not all their lives chasing the illusion of satisfaction

§ Chasing the wind- you can never catch it, and even if you did, you’d have nothing

- Here in this final chapter Solomon points us to our only source of true satisfaction in this life and it forces us to look beyond temporal and fleeting things and to eternal

o He leaves us with three keys to unlocking this mystery

o This is the point of it all. This is why Solomon painted such a depressing picture of life apart from God, so he could point us to this reality

- If we want to find true satisfaction and meaning in this life, we must remember our Creator, pursue godly wisdom, and fear God.

Remember Your Creator (v.1)

A. We need a reminder of who God is and who we are

1. He made us, we are His

a. We have been made, not self-made

2. He gives life and He takes life away

3. All things are in His sovereign hand

4. This is the opposite of what the world tells us-

a. The mindless pursuit of self when we are young

b. Live it up now, get serious about life later

5. The importance of teaching ourselves and our children-

a. When we are young, our minds soak up so much

b. We are developing into the people we will be when we get older

c. Our decisions today are forming our character for tomorrow

6. To remember the creator is to pursue wisdom and the path God has for us

a. In this pursuit, we will find joy

B. The days of adversity are coming

1. Don't wait! - What are you waiting for

2. Maybe you say, "Too late! Those days of trouble are here!

a. John 16:33- I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

C. Picture of old age

1. Old age- we never like hearing people younger than us complain about getting old- but we feel the effects at all ages!

a. I mean, technically, we start dying the minute we're born

2. Imagery in 2-6

a. Verse 3

3. Full circle back to Gen 2:7- Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.

- So what is the point? – futility

o A reminder of what is important- some spend their whole lives accumulating

Pursue Godly Wisdom

A. Know God’s truth

1. Study (9-12)

a. We must be continual learners

b. If we have a relationship with Jesus, the Spirit continual guide us into truth

(1) John 16:12-15 “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything the Father has is mine. This is why I told you that he takes from what is mine and will declare it to you.”

2. Acts as a cattle prod to push us in the right direction

a. Ancient vs. today

b. No one likes to be compared to cattle, and no one likes to prodded into doing something, but if we're honest, we need this!

c. This is what we do with children (not with actual prods)- guiding them in the way they should go because we love them

3. Acts as a nail- stability, security

a. The more we are grounded in truth, the more unshakable we will be- as individual Christians and as a church

4. We ground ourselves in God’s truth

a. There’s a big difference between the words of God and the words of men

b. No end to books written

c. Doctrine of inspiration

d. My words have authority only as they accurately reflect what God's word say

B. Share God’s truth

1. Evangelize

a. Last week we talked about how God has transformed our hearts. He can do the same thing for those around us, and he has entrusted us with carrying that message to those who don’t know him

b. But it doesn’t stop there

2. Disciple

a. Matthew 28:19-20- Go therefore and make disciples

b. Not “Great, you trusted in Jesus, go on your way.”

Fear God

A. The importance of fearing God (v.13)

1. This is the conclusion of all Solomon’s findings. This is the point!

2. The Bible talks about us…

a. Loving God- 88; Trusting God- 91; Fearing God- 278

B. Fearing God is recognizing who He is and then living in light of that reality

1. Fear drives us to obedience

a. “Fear God and keep his commands” (13)

b. We see this formula is abused so often- coercion by terror

c. That is not what this is- ocean illustration

d. Rather it is recognizing a reality and living in light of it

2. Solomon understood that this is what we were created for

a. Illustration- Ebakl- It was created for a purpose, but if I try to use it cut my hair, catch a fish, or even hammer a nail, I’m going to be extremely frustrated with this tool, but put it in the hands of someone who knows how to use us, and it can do incredible things

b. This is where we will find true joy and satisfaction

c. Psalm 112:1- Happy is the person who fears the Lord, taking great delight in his commands.

C. The reality of judgement

1. The hope of salvation

Conclusion

- Solomon has laid out a simple, yet sobering argument- if we pursue all the things the world has to offer, we will never find true satisfaction in life, but when we pursue God above all else, we will not only find hope in an eternal future with him but also fulfillment in this life.

So What?

- Remember your creator

- Pursue God’s wisdom

o Know what is true and share it with others

- Fear God