Text: Ecclesiastes 6:1-8, 13
A. Meaningless
~ 6:1-2 - Wealth without enjoyment
~ 6:3-6 - Long life without enjoyment
~ 6:7-9 - Food without satisfaction
~ 6:10-18 - Life without meaning
B. Words of Wisdom
~ 7:1-8 - The "better" things / key word "better"
~ 7:9-8:1 - More words of wisdom
~ 8:2-6 - Obedience and propriety
~ 8:7-13 - The wicked and the God fearing
Enjoy Life... But... (Ecclesiastes 3:9-14; 5:18-20)
~ Ecclesiastes 2:24 - Enjoy food and drink and work because they are from the hand of God
~ Ecclesiastes 3:9-14 - From the Gift of God
~ Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 - From the Gift of God
~ Ecclesiastes 8:15 - Commended enjoyment
A. Enjoy Life but Remember God
~ God in Picture
- A meaningful life - a Gift from God
- God gives : food, drink, satisfaction in doing His work
- God gives : wisdom, knowledge, happiness
- God gives : time, the Gift of Life
~ A time to be born... A time to die...
~ A time to... A time for...
- Two examples : Job 1:21 / Ecclesiastes 5:15 (He did not charge God with wrong doing) / Paul - Philippines 4:11-13
B. Enjoy Life but Remember God's People
- God's chosen people - the Jews
- Elected, called, predestined to be in God's family
- Life in a "Kibuttz" - A community of God's people, a family
- Called not just to believe but to belong to one another
- God's purposes - never achieved by solo effect (Salvation cannot be made individually but to help, serve and love one another).
C. Enjoy Life but Remember the Lost and the Poor
- The lost - searching under the sun, chasing after the wind, living in the dark
- We have the light and the word of Life
- But as we enjoy life we are drawing them closer to God or pushing them away from God
- The poor - does our lives contribute to their oppression, do we speak our against injustice? (Ecclesiastes 4:1 - The oppressed have no comforters)
D. Enjoy Life but Remember God's Commands
- The true test - trust and obedience not talk
- O.T. Blessings conditional upon obedience
- Read Deuteronomy 28:1-14
- King Solomon - Ecclesiastes 8:2-6, 12-13
- Fear God and keep His commands, for this is the whole duty of man
- Jesus : John 14-21;23-24
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