Biblical Truths from West Palm Beach church of Christ

The teacher of Ecclesiastes brings us to the final conclusions regarding his look at life. Remember that this book began with the teacher trying to determine what a person gets for all of his efforts in life. What is the gain? What is the advantage? What is the benefit? Do you get the payoff for all that you put into this world? What we have seen throughout our study of this book is that the answer is no. But his conclusions have not been hopelessness and meaninglessness. Rather, the teacher has shown us that there are some benefits in life and you are to enjoy life as God has given it to you. But if you try to make the pursuits of this earthly world your hope, you will feel empty, depressed, and frustrated because God subjected this world to futility so that it will never give back what you are putting into it. This is an important conclusion that I do want to remind us about at this moment. If you feel empty, depressed, or frustrated by life, you are not doing something wrong. God made life work this way so that we would look to him who is the only source of true joy. As you try to find satisfaction in life, you will only find it in God’s hands. So what is the final word from the teacher? What is the end of the matter?

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We are starting a new series this evening in which we are going to examine God’s love and how his love is to change who we are and how we live. Now it is important to remember the purpose that the apostle John has for writing his first letter. John says he writes these things so that our joy may be full (1 John 1:4). John also states at the end of this letter than he is writing these things so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13). One of the important ways that we can have complete joy and know that we have eternal life is by knowing the love of God. You might remember that the apostle Paul prayed that God’s people would know the love of Christ that surpasses understanding so that you may be filled with the fullness of God (cf. Ephesians 3:19). Grasping the love of God in Christ is everything for sustaining us for our walking with God in this life. So open your copies of God’s word to 1 John 3 and we are going to begin our study there…

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We are coming to the end of our series called Don’t Waste Your Life as the book of Ecclesiastes explores what is the gain and advantage for all your effort in this world. We are now coming to the concluding wisdom for life in the final chapters of the book. In Ecclesiastes 10 the teacher offers more wisdom about how to not live foolishly (Ecclesiastes 10:1-11) and how to not speak foolishly (Ecclesiastes 10:12-15). The wise teachings continue into chapter 11, exemplifying foolish living and giving directions for wisdom. But now we come to the bottom line in Ecclesiastes 11-12. We will look at the first three conclusions in this week’s lesson and, Lord willing, we will look at the final four conclusions in next week’s lesson. Open your copies of God’s word to Ecclesiastes 11 and we will begin our study in verses 7-9…

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We have noted how God has sent Jeremiah on some missions as a living parable to teach the people regarding their condition and what God is doing. We have seen Jeremiah use spoiled linen undergarments to show how the people have defiled themselves. Jeremiah was not allowed to be married or go to funerals, weddings, or parties to show the lack of joy, peace, or comfort in their future. God has another living parable for Jeremiah to live and show to the people of Judah…

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We enter a new year full of new hope and high expectations. This year is going to be different. This year is going to be better. This year we are going to do what we did not get down this last year. This is going to be our year. But you also know that you have said this before. You know there is an underlying problem in with life. Life is frustrating. There are so many events that happen in this world that do not make sense and can drive us to frustration. We are not alone when we feel life’s frustration. The teacher of Ecclesiastes spends some time examining the frustrations that are found in the world. He will draw some really important conclusions that will help us understand God and the world so that we do not waste our lives in frustration and anguish…

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Our culture often wisely will emphasize the need to live a balanced life. Popular life coaches will speak to the need for not being excessive in certain areas of your life. But this is not a new idea. Rather, the need for balance in life is a biblical teaching that you find in the scriptures. The teacher is continuing to take us to the school of life. In the second part of Ecclesiastes 7, the teacher is going school us about the need for balance and what that balance looks like in our lives so that we do not waste our lives…

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We are in a series called Flourish where we are looking what was preventing God’s people from having a flourishing, blessed relationship with their God. In this series we have seen that the people have ruined themselves because they have refused to listen to God, making them useless for God’s purpose (Jeremiah 13). The people had listened to false teachers and false prophets who lied to them about how good their relationship was with God (Jeremiah 14). They had followed a legacy of sin, going even further in their sinning than prior generations (Jeremiah 15). Despite God’s grace toward them, they used God’s grace to continue their stubborn sinning (Jeremiah 16). We now come to Jeremiah 17 where God wants to talk to the problem of the heart. The reason the relationship with God has failed is because of the hearts of the people…

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As we come to Ecclesiastes 7, the teacher is going to tell us the things that are better in life. The book has been attempting to determine what we gain for all of our work and effort on earth. What do we get for all that we put into this life? What is the advantage or benefit for all the effort we give? I have also noted to you that the message of the book is not that everything is meaningless. In fact, in Ecclesiastes 7 the teacher is going to show that there are things are important. There are things that are better than other things in this life. So the teacher is going to take us to the school of life and teach us the better things we need so that we do not waste our lives…

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God often would require strange activities from his prophets in order to teach the people to whom the prophets served. When we studied Ezekiel, we saw that he had to lay on his side for a year to get the people’s attention and to teach them what God’s word was. We already have seen Jeremiah have a spoiled undergarment to show the people how their relationship with God has been spoiled because of their sins. But now Jeremiah is going to be commanded to make social sacrifices to show the people the severity of the coming judgment and the future grace that God has in store for his people…

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The teacher of Ecclesiastes has been giving his instructions so that we will not waste the time of our lives that God has given to us. The teacher has been trying to find out what gain we get from all of our effort and work on earth. So he is exploring different areas of life, helping us see through the noise and the foolishness, so that we can make wise decisions. The teacher now turns his attention to contentment and examines the problems in life that come from not being content with our lives and what we have. Why are we not satisfied with life? Why do we lack contentment? What is going on in us and what is going on in the world that keeps us from being satisfied? Open your copies of God’s word to Ecclesiastes 5-6…

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