HOFC Sermon Archive: Ecclesiastes Part 7: Counsel for Better Living II

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SERMON TIMELINE

1. Introduction & Prologue

2. The Search for Meaning I

3. The Search for Meaning II

4. Solomon’s Observations I

5. Solomon’s Observations II

6. Counsel for Better Living I

7. Counsel for Better Living II

Today is Sunday. November 24^th, 2024

INTRODUCTION

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE - Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

“Better is a good name than good oil, And better is the day of one’s death than the day of one’s birth.

2 Better to go to a house of mourning Than to go to a house of feasting Because Death is the end of all mankind, And the living puts this in his heart.

3 Better is sorrow than laughter, For when a face is sad a heart may be merry.

4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the heart of fools is in the house of gladness.

5 Better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man Than for one to listen to the song of fools.

6 For as the crackling sound of thorn bushes under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool;

And this too is vanity.

7 For oppression gives a wise man over to madness, And a bribe destroys the heart.

8 Better is the end of a matter than its beginning; Better is patience of spirit than haughtiness of spirit.

9 Do not be eager in your spirit to be worried, For worry rests in the bosom of fools.

10 Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is good And an advantage to those who see the sun.

12 For wisdom is a shadow of protection as money is a shadow of protection, And the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its masters.

13 See the work of God, For who is able to straighten what He has bent?

14 In the day when there is good be of good cheer, But in the day when there is evil see— God has made the one as well as the other So that man will not find out anything that will be after him.”

I. PATIENCE IS BETTER THAN PRIDE

a. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

i. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality (a selfish focus on gratifying what you desire, seeking to please your wants), envy, slander, pride [arrogance, conceit, superiority], and foolishness. 23 All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” Mark 7:21-23

ii. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” 1 John 2:16

1. So lust of the flesh and eyes and boastful pride (evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, are not from God.

2. They are offerings from the world.

3. And you store them within your heart, and they defile you.

iii. Patience is a virtue to be pursued by the men and women of God

1. “But you, O man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance [or steadfastness], gentleness.” 1 Timothy 6:11

2. “Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.” 2 Timothy 2:2

b. Why is patience better than pride?

i. Pride leads to contention and destruction.

1. Proverbs 13:10

2. Proverbs 16:18

ii. Pride leads to anger, which resides in the heart of fools

1. Ecclesiastes 7:9

iii. Patience, on the other hand, is indicative of wisdom and necessary to salvation.

1. Proverbs 14:29 “He who is slow to anger has great discernment, But he who is quick-tempered raises up foolishness.”

2. Romans 2:5-8 “because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who will repay to each according to his works: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and anger.”

3. Hebrews 10:36 “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”

c. Good Works and the Will of God

i. Do not quickly set aside the Book of James we studied

ii. Good Works are not done “to be saved”; instead, because we are saved, we do good works.

1. On Judgment Day, God will repay each of us according to our works here on earth.

2. So, if we are doing good works, seeking glory and honor for God and Immortality for ourselves, we shall receive eternal life.

3. If we live a prideful, selfishly ambitious life, not obeying the truth but obeying the world's unrighteousness, we shall receive wrath and anger.

iii. Hebrews tells us we need endurance to continue doing the will of God SO we may receive the promise of eternal life.

There are those who do not live in the present. Some fill their head with what might be of tomorrow. Which will bring anxiety.

Jesus said in Matthew 6, “do not be worried about your life,” and “which of you by worrying can add a single measure to his life span?”

Matthew 6:32-33 “For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Worry brings anxiety, but seeking God for your needs today and tomorrow will bring you peace, knowing He will provide.

Some people dwell continuously in the past. This brings guilt and depression.

Philippians 3:12-14 “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Isaiah 43:18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”

Your past does not matter to God, only your future. And regardless of what may have occurred, He can turn it around for His Glory.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”

II. SOLOMON SAYS THE PRESENT IS BETTER THAN THE PAST (Ecclesiastes 7:10)

a. We are not to say, “why were the former days better?”

i. We cannot dwell in the “good ol’ days.”

ii. One of two things take place when we dwell in the past

1. Our memories will deceive us, making us think things were much better than they really were because good times are easier to remember than bad.

2. Or, we will be stuck in the bad memories of the past, wishing we had done things differently, hind-sight being 20-20, which in turn, brings guilt and eventually depression because of the “what-ifs.”

b. Why you are not wise if you think this

i. Even if we do face trials today, we have cause to rejoice

1. James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith brings about perseverance. 4 And let perseverance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

ii. Not only does dwelling in the past bring guilt and depression, but it can keep us from doing good in the present because we are “stuck” in the past.

III. SOLOMON ALSO TELLS US WISDOM IS BETTER THAN WEALTH

a. Wealth does have its advantages.

i. But with the advantages having much money brings, it also brings much grief and more problems.

ii. Proverbs 14:20 “The poor is hated even by his neighbor, But those who love the rich are many.”

iii. I have heard actors, musicians, and others with money talk about all the fake friends they accumulated because of their wealth, never being able to trust any of them.

1. One even pretended to be 100% broke to see who would stick around, and the only one who did was his childhood friend from before he was rich.

b. Wisdom is greater

i. All your riches and wealth will not profit you in the day of wrath

1. “Wealth will not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness will deliver from death.” Proverbs 11:4

2. Wealth often makes things worse.

3. Those involved always fight over the money.

4. Those who don’t have it want it.

5. Those who have it want more.

ii. But wisdom reveals the path to righteousness, which brings eternal life

1. Wisdom will make the best use of what you have

2. Wisdom will help one weather the storms of wrath

IV. SUBMISSION TO GOD IS BETTER THAN ANGER IN LIFE

a. There are some things we cannot change

i. God has a purpose which we cannot change

1. Ecclesiastes 7:13 “See the work of God, For who is able to straighten what He has bent?”

2. Isaiah 43:13 “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”

3. “For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. 35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can strike against His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’” Daniel 4:35

ii. His purpose allows for both GOOD DAYS and BAD DAYS

1. “In the day when there is good be of good cheer, But in the day when there is adversity see—God has made the one as well as the other…” Ecclesiastes 7:14a

b. We need to accept these things and not become angry in life

i. Enjoy the Good Days

ii. In days of adversity, consider what lessons might be learned from them

iii. It does no good to get angry about the things we cannot change

Remember last week, there is a time to weep and a time to rejoice and laugh.

CONCLUSION –

What has Solomon taught us thus far about better living?

Patience is better than selfish-pride

TODAY is better than yesterday, and do not worry about tomorrow

Wisdom is far better than wealth

Submitting to God’s purpose is better than fighting a losing battle and becoming angry at life.

NEXT WEEK: “Part 8: Living a Balanced Life

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Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Ecclesiastes Part 7: Counsel for Better Living II

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