what is life all about

Living it up: Part 1- What is life all about                              Friday June 11, 2010 Ecclesiastes 1:1-14; 2:1-11
 

The Book of Ecclesiastes:
-Ecclesiastes – ecclesia, assembly, teaching, public speaking.
-Authored by Solomon, the wisest man after Christ
-Wisdom literature
– written at the fag end of his life. Totally disillusioned with the pleasures, materialism and self indulgence which he thought brings satisfaction.
The book records the King’s cynical reflections on futility of life when sought happiness in life apart from God.

I. What is life all about:
Life ‘Under the Sun’ is life as seen through the eyes of the unredeemed. It has inequities, uncertainties, unpredictable changes in fortune and violations of justice.
-the phrase under the sun appears 29 times.

1:1 His summary on life, “Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is Meaningless!”
-Meaningless occurs 37 times in the Book.
-You can just about close the book and close the chapter on life. It is meaningless.

1:2 What does a man gain from all his labours?
-You toil hard. Assert yourself. What is the end result? Meaningless.
-Solomon’s philosophy is followed today by the people who pursue life without God. Ted Turner: “Early to bed and early to rise, work like hell and advertise”
-Work hard and promote yourself.

1:3-8 Pure naturel Science: Environnemental science. The rain, wind, Condensation, evaporation – all is there.
9 - Medical science – Eye transplanted can go on forever.

10,11 –Nothing is original. “There is God, everything else is details”

II. Experimenting with life:
1:12-14; 2:1-11 Trying to find meaning in life.

1. Study – Devoted myself to study Vs. 12
-Applied to explore wisdom. Paper Chase. Degrees after degrees without using what has been learnt.
-Like Chasing after the wind. Cannot keep up, cannot catch up.

2. Pleasure – Life, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good. Experiment with pleasure. Proved to be meaningless. 2:1

3. Laughter – adda, hangout - that is foolishness. Anything that will make him laugh. “What does pleasure accomplish?” 2:2

4. Drugs and Wine – I tried cheering myself with it… 2:3 -His mind still guiding. Sensible trying to be senseless. -Wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

5. Achievements – undertook great projects. Built houses, planted vineyards, made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees, made reservoirs, 2:4-6 -Improved on what he had. Got busy into doing something meaningful. -Kings and their gardens. Eg. Delhi Redfort garden. Healed passing through it. -Finding meaning in doing.

6. Materialism – Owned slaves, herds, flocks than anyone else around. Amassed Gold, silver, and the treasures from all over the world. 2:7,8

7. Entertainment - Music – Acquired singers, male and female, -a harem of ladies which to the unredeemed is the delight of men.

8. Fame – Greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem. 2:9 -Still remained sane. What in the name of sanity goes on?

9. Self indulgence – Denied nothing my eyes desired. Refused no pleasure. Delighted in all his work – became arrogance and proud for he thought this was the reward of his labour. -Unrestrained self indulgence. No self control. His own words written earlier in Proverbs 25:28 “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self control.” -No self control, No walls, open to any invasion. What a way to live? Without self control you make your self vulnerable to attack and the ungodly forces thrive upon your unrestrained appetite.

III. His Conclusion:
When he surveyed – All I have done and toiled for – Summary “Everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind, nothing was gained under the sun” 2:11 I hated life.
I hated all the things I have toiled for. 2:17 Someone else will enjoy, Will his successor be wise or fool. Cannot sleep over this.

Life without God is meaningless. Man’s perspective on life portrayed by Jesus in the Parable of rich fool, The man with worldly perspective says, “You have plenty of things laid up for years – Take our life easy - Eat, drink and be merry!” Jesus called him fool.

The book of Ecclesiastes is very depressing. Notice the word ‘God’. The whole atmosphere changes when God appears in Life.

Life is not the sum of all experiments. Experiments are done on guinea pigs. -We have one life, that is not for experiments.

IV. Jesus offers life.
In HIM was life and that life was the light of men. John 1:4

“The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.” John 10:10

“This is the testimony, God has given us eternal 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

Don’t let your experiments, rob you of true life. Don’t throw away your life. Get hold of life. Come to God through Jesus and receive this life.

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