"Learn The Lesson – Be Wise!” Ecc. Pt 13 Series

“Learn the lesson – be wise!”

Ecc. Part 13

Opening Illustration: From Blue fish TV “Wake”

The lesson from the timer:

What happens in 30 minutes?

Have a timer with on the pulpit – set it for 30 minutes in front of everyone. The lesson from the timer is what motivated Solomon to write the book of Ecclesiastes because time was running out for him and for many others. It made him think about eternity and where he was going. The lesson from the timer is this for us today: Have you ever thought what happens in a 30 minute time frame in the world?

“Mission Maker Magazine”, page 18, Edition 2008, (www.WorldChristianDatabase.org).

*7,764 souls began life in the world in the last 30 minutes

*3,444 souls meet Jesus face-to-face in the world in the last 30 minutes

*3,420 baptisms occurred in foreign mission in the world in the last 30 minutes

*$1,311,888 dollars were given to foreign missions in the world in the last 30 minutes

*10,896 people migrated internationally in the world in the last 30 minutes

*402 children became homeless or family-less in the world in the last 30 minutes

*2,275 rural poor migrated to cities in the world in the last 30 minutes

*1,140 people moved into urban slums in the world in the last 30 minutes

*68 people began supporting themselves only by collecting garbage in the world in the last 30 minutes

*1,375 children under age five died from preventable starvation related causes in the world in the last 30 minutes

*10 Christians died for their faith witness in the last 30 minutes

Summary of what we have learned so far from Solomon the wise.

What we learned from chapter 1:Life is a burden and meaningless without God

Is the life we live meaningless? Do people live meaningless lives? The answer is “Yes” for some people and “No” for others. The truth is some people do live meaningless lives. But the answer is an absolute “no” if you are a believer in Jesus Christ and you are living for God.

Life is meaningless and senseless without the presence of God in our lives. When we strive to live for ourselves we will soon discover that life is senseless and filled with emptiness day after day.

Life will become a heavy burden if we try to live it without God – many have discovered the tragedy of a life without God’s intervention and guidance. It has lead far too many to the point of suicide to the point of nervous breakdowns and to mental institutes and counselors.

Psalm 90:12 (NLT) “Teach us to make the most of our time…and make our efforts successful. Yes, our efforts successful!”

What we learned from chapter 2: Sensual pleasures lack any eternal value or meaning when they are done outside of God’s boundaries.

What is wrong with the pursuit of pleasure? Answer: It will become a tyrannical god – an idol that will never satisfy – it will never bring eternal meaning to your life.

Sensual pleasures lack any eternal value or meaning when they are done outside of God’s boundaries. They will leave you empty in the end and they will leave you deserted because their momentarily flash of excitement will be crushed under the reality of truth in the end.

Great building and work projects may create a visible structure and seem pleasurable to do but this structure will decay and collapse one day, your hard work will disappear over time as the forces of nature and life erode it away. They have not eternal lasting value because they will crumble under the pressure of time and life.

The acquiring and the pleasure of materialistic things of value will in the end have no value because when you die you cannot take them with you. Even after you buy something brand new it will lose its appeal after a short timeframe. If you hoarded them for yourself then in the end they lose their eternal value and all that you accumulate will be given away to others at your death.

The applause of men and of others will mean nothing when you are standing before the throne of God and all of Heaven and everyone is silent because you deserve no praise for the way you wasted your life. That silence will kill you and you will hear that for eternity!

What we learned from chapter 3:There is a time for everything in life and we need to know what time it is.

There is a time for everything in life. We are responsible to make sure that we do not waste our time or throw it away needlessly. Why, because it’s all we have to prepare for eternity. Life is really about preparing for eternity and this life that you and I are living is all we get – when your time is used up that’s it – you are out of time.