Green Street Baptist Church: Audio Podcast

This passage we’ve come to in our study of Ecclesiastes is a wonderful treatment on the importance of friendship and the value that other people bring to our lives. For the past couple of chapters, Solomon has been weighing life in the balance. He has considered life ‘under the sun’ and has come to the conclusion that apart from God it all seems so empty. He found injustice under the sun where there ought to have been righteousness. He found emptiness where there ought to have been satisfaction. In the opening verses of chapter four, he contrasts the industrious man with the idle man. Now, he is going to take a look at the independent and isolated man.

I want you to open your Bible with me to the fourth chapter of Ecclesiastes, where we will read from the first six verses. I want to speak to you from the subject, “When Life Isn’t Fair.” Have you ever felt that way before? Sure you have. Perhaps you were mistreated by another person, or perhaps you have felt that you weren’t getting recognized for something you thought you ought to be recognized for. Perhaps things didn’t turn out the way you thought they should in the life of someone you love. The fact of the matter is that all of us have experienced the ‘unfairness’ of life at various points. King Solomon of Israel had been there, too. He writes all about it in the book of Ecclesiastes. Now, I have already pointed out to you a couple of ways that life appeared to be unfair to Solomon…

From the earliest years of our childhood, we had our own perception of whether or not something was ‘fair.’ Right? I mean, you have more than likely made this statement at some point in your life: “It’s just not fair!” You felt like you were getting the short end of the stick, the raw end of some deal. Maybe you were passed over for a job promotion that you felt you had earned. Or maybe you were at the height of your athletic career and suddenly had an injury that forced you to the sidelines. Or maybe someone you loved passed into eternity before you felt it was their time. No matter what the circumstances were, all of us have experienced the bitter taste of ‘unfairness’ in life. Solomon had experienced this same frustration as well. He came to that conclusion that under the sun, life just doesn’t seem to be fair. To the victor goes the spoils, but the nice guys always seem to finish last. It was all frustrating to the Preacher and seemed so empty. And yet deep down, Solomon knew full well the truth that God is the ultimate Judge.

Life Week: Spring Revival Services: April 28, 9am, 10:30am, 6pm. April 29-May 1, 6:30pm. Life Week is a focused time in God’s word and in prayer, together, as we understand our life in Christ and are revived.

Life Week: Spring Revival Services: April 28, 9am, 10:30am, 6pm. April 29-May 1, 6:30pm. Life Week is a focused time in God’s word and in prayer, together, as we understand our life in Christ and are revived.

Life Week: Spring Revival Services: April 28, 9am, 10:30am, 6pm. April 29-May 1, 6:30pm. Life Week is a focused time in God’s word and in prayer, together, as we understand our life in Christ and are revived.

Life Week: Spring Revival Services: April 28, 9am, 10:30am, 6pm. April 29-May 1, 6:30pm. Life Week is a focused time in God’s word and in prayer, together, as we understand our life in Christ and are revived.

Life Week: Spring Revival Services: April 28, 9am, 10:30am, 6pm. April 29-May 1, 6:30pm. Life Week is a focused time in God’s word and in prayer, together, as we understand our life in Christ and are revived.

The truth that Jesus conquered the grave is what gives confidence to our lives. It is what serves as the impetus in our mission. For this reason, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the lynchpin of Christianity. Without it, we would have no gospel. Nor would we have any hope for life beyond death. If Jesus Christ were not raised, the Bible says that we would still be in our sins. And those of us who believe would be, of all people, the most pitied. So it is the subject of death and resurrection that I want to take up this morning, beginning in Ecclesiastes 3. In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon of Israel faces up to our fears by asking the hard questions of life, such as the meaning of the universe, the existence of God, and the nature of the life to come. The difficult question of death comes up here at the end of the third chapter. Solomon will pose a problem that doesn’t seem to have an answer. What will happen when I die? Is there any hope for me? Yes. Jesus.

Stewardship of life demands that we know what time it is, and this is largely the message of this third chapter of Ecclesiastes. The word ‘time’ is mentioned on 31 separate occasions in this chapter. Though we have eternity in our hearts, we are time bound creatures. We are born with a longing for another world, we live out our days as if life will go on forever, and yet we are not beyond the reach of time. Sooner or later, it will catch up with all of us. Here we are presented with a picture of a sovereign God who is Lord over time. He is the One who regulates all of our days, down to the very minutes and seconds that make up our life here on earth. He is the One who sees to it that from birth to death, there is a time and a season for everything under heaven. There is nothing that happens in life that is beyond His control.