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Some Wise Advice
Life Under the Sun
Part 7: Some Wise Advice
By Louie Marsh, 10/9/2022
Intro – pics – last one church pic
How To Follow Jesus
1) I should focus on my CHARACTER not my appearance.
“1A good name is better than expensive perfume… (Ecclesiastes 7:1, GW)
This is hard – story of my dirty shirt in college and the solution!
Appearance means not your clothes but the way you appear outwardly – station in life, looks, job, titles, society, etc.
2) Being with God is better than BEING HERE!
“1…the day of death than the day of birth. 2It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” (Ecclesiastes 7:1–2, ESV)
…the day you die is better than the day you are born. It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you are going to die, and you should think about it while there is still time. Eccl. 7:1b-2 (NLT)
I'm torn between two desires: Sometimes I want to live, and sometimes I long to go and be with Christ. That would be far better for me, but it is better for you that I live. Phil. 1:23-24 (NLT)
The more mature we grow in Christ the more we’ll agree with this – it’s a tough one for me personally because I’m allergic to death! I really want to go to heaven, I just don’t want to have to die to get there!!
3) I learn more from HARD TIMES than happy ones.
“3Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” (Ecclesiastes 7:3–4, ESV)
A wise person thinks much about death, while the fool thinks only about having a good time now. Eccles. 7:4 (NLT)
I think almost everyone know this is true – but isn’t it amazing how hard we work at denying it’s truth in our lives! How we focus on having fun and feeling good as if that’s the end all and be all of life – it’s NOT!!
- Do don’t just go through things – GROW through them!
4) Learning from the wise is better than laughing with LOSERS!
“5It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. 6For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 7:5–6, ESV)
It is better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool! Indeed, a fool's laughter is quickly gone, like thorns crackling in a fire. This also is meaningless. Eccl. 7:5-6 (NLT)
- Play things DOWN not up!
5) How we FINISH is more important than how we begin.
“8Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” (Ecclesiastes 7:8, ESV)
It is better to finish something than to start it Eccl. 7:8a (NCV)
How many projects have you started and then let go unfinished? It’s easy to get excited about things and jump into them – it’s not so easy to finish them!
REMEMBER: It’s not how you start that counts – it’s how you finish!
6) REMAINING CALM accomplishes more than anger.
9Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools. 10Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.” (Ecclesiastes 7:9–10, ESV)
Patience is better than pride. Don't be quick-tempered, for anger is the friend of fools. Don't long for "the good old days," for you don't know whether they were any better than today. Eccl. 7:8-10 (NLT)
Why get upset all the time? Or if you are upset – don’t blurt things out – stay quiet and calm and let God do His Work!
Don’t get upset over thing changing, the good old days weren’t that good – and things have to change – it’s the nature of the world God created and the nature He’s given each one of us!
Two Major Benefits of Wisdom!
1) It keeps me from SELF-INFLICTED wounds.
“11Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun. 12For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.” (Ecclesiastes 7:11–12, ESV)
The majority of my problems in life are self-inflicted wounds – the more of God’s Wisdom I have, the fewer of those I’ll suffer!
2) It gives me God’s PERSPECTIVE on life.
“13Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? 14In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.” (Ecclesiastes 7:13–14, ESV)
“13See the way God does things and fall into line. Don’t fight the facts of nature. Who can straighten what he has made crooked? 14Enjoy prosperity whenever you can, and when hard times strike, realize that God gives one as well as the other—so that everyone will realize that nothing is certain in this life.” (Ecclesiastes 7:13–14, The Living Bible)
View all episodes
By Lewis MarshLife Under the Sun
Part 7: Some Wise Advice
By Louie Marsh, 10/9/2022
Intro – pics – last one church pic
How To Follow Jesus
1) I should focus on my CHARACTER not my appearance.
“1A good name is better than expensive perfume… (Ecclesiastes 7:1, GW)
This is hard – story of my dirty shirt in college and the solution!
Appearance means not your clothes but the way you appear outwardly – station in life, looks, job, titles, society, etc.
2) Being with God is better than BEING HERE!
“1…the day of death than the day of birth. 2It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” (Ecclesiastes 7:1–2, ESV)
…the day you die is better than the day you are born. It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you are going to die, and you should think about it while there is still time. Eccl. 7:1b-2 (NLT)
I'm torn between two desires: Sometimes I want to live, and sometimes I long to go and be with Christ. That would be far better for me, but it is better for you that I live. Phil. 1:23-24 (NLT)
The more mature we grow in Christ the more we’ll agree with this – it’s a tough one for me personally because I’m allergic to death! I really want to go to heaven, I just don’t want to have to die to get there!!
3) I learn more from HARD TIMES than happy ones.
“3Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” (Ecclesiastes 7:3–4, ESV)
A wise person thinks much about death, while the fool thinks only about having a good time now. Eccles. 7:4 (NLT)
I think almost everyone know this is true – but isn’t it amazing how hard we work at denying it’s truth in our lives! How we focus on having fun and feeling good as if that’s the end all and be all of life – it’s NOT!!
- Do don’t just go through things – GROW through them!
4) Learning from the wise is better than laughing with LOSERS!
“5It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. 6For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 7:5–6, ESV)
It is better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool! Indeed, a fool's laughter is quickly gone, like thorns crackling in a fire. This also is meaningless. Eccl. 7:5-6 (NLT)
- Play things DOWN not up!
5) How we FINISH is more important than how we begin.
“8Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” (Ecclesiastes 7:8, ESV)
It is better to finish something than to start it Eccl. 7:8a (NCV)
How many projects have you started and then let go unfinished? It’s easy to get excited about things and jump into them – it’s not so easy to finish them!
REMEMBER: It’s not how you start that counts – it’s how you finish!
6) REMAINING CALM accomplishes more than anger.
9Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools. 10Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.” (Ecclesiastes 7:9–10, ESV)
Patience is better than pride. Don't be quick-tempered, for anger is the friend of fools. Don't long for "the good old days," for you don't know whether they were any better than today. Eccl. 7:8-10 (NLT)
Why get upset all the time? Or if you are upset – don’t blurt things out – stay quiet and calm and let God do His Work!
Don’t get upset over thing changing, the good old days weren’t that good – and things have to change – it’s the nature of the world God created and the nature He’s given each one of us!
Two Major Benefits of Wisdom!
1) It keeps me from SELF-INFLICTED wounds.
“11Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun. 12For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.” (Ecclesiastes 7:11–12, ESV)
The majority of my problems in life are self-inflicted wounds – the more of God’s Wisdom I have, the fewer of those I’ll suffer!
2) It gives me God’s PERSPECTIVE on life.
“13Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? 14In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.” (Ecclesiastes 7:13–14, ESV)
“13See the way God does things and fall into line. Don’t fight the facts of nature. Who can straighten what he has made crooked? 14Enjoy prosperity whenever you can, and when hard times strike, realize that God gives one as well as the other—so that everyone will realize that nothing is certain in this life.” (Ecclesiastes 7:13–14, The Living Bible)