Finding Purpose In Your Life

Finding purpose in your life

Ecclesiastes 1:1-1:9

Introduction-

If you would turn to the book of Ecclesiastes.

It is in the Old Testament right after Proverbs.

Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

There are so many books written on finding purpose.

How to make the most of your life.

How to be successful.

How to find inner peace.

I have to tell you, the older I get, the more I think a lot of it is smoke and mirrors.

I know for a long time that I felt like a dog chasing my tail, I could see it but never get a hold of it. Then by dumb luck, I caught it and discovered that it hurts when you bite your tail.

Anybody else feel like that?

They debate who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes but most think it was King David’s son Solomon.

He was the richest man to have lived at that time.

He possessed wisdom that was definitely from above and not of his own doings.

He took a hard look at life and recorded his findings for us to learn from.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-1:9

Maybe you’re here this morning and you are asking some tough questions.

Why am I here?

What is the meaning of life?

What is my purpose?

Why do I feel so empty?

If you will be honest with yourself and with God this morning,

He has answers for you today also.

Christians sing a song “It is well with my soul”

Sometimes Christians sing songs with tears in our eyes because it is the right song to sing but we sing it for the wrong reasons.

This song was penned by a man named Horacio Spafford in 1876.

He wrote it after great tragedy was in his life.

He was a very successful lawyer in Chicago.

In 1871 was the great Chicago fire. It burned up most of his money because he was invested in properties all over Chicago.

He had promised his family that they would go on a European vacation and in 1873 they were to go by ship to Europe. He sent his family ahead so that he could catch up on final business arrangements and they were to meet later.

The ship collided with a sea vessel and 4 of his daughters drowned and his wife was injured.

That is more than most could bear to even think about.

If you were to follow his family, he and his wife again had a child and that child died at 4 years old of scarlet fever.

You think you have it rough? You think you are looking for answers? You think you need to find peace?

When we go through rough times, we think that we are the only ones going through anything. That life seems to be picking on us.

Do you think that Spafford had divine help to pen the words to this song?

“When peace like a river attendeth my way

When sorrows like a sea billow roll

Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to know

It is well, it is well with my soul.”

Thou Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this bless assurance control

That Christ has regarded by helpless estate

And hath shed his own blood for my soul.

You got questions! God has answers!

God never promises us easy.

He promises that He will be there with us and help us through them.

Back to the text, if Solomon did write these words- He had it all! Money, possessions, most expensive gifts, whatever he wanted! He said that it was meaningless!

If we took the time to read the whole book of Ecclesiastes, we would see that Solomon saw three things.

1. Wisdom is meaningless

2. Pleasure is meaningless.

3. There is a time for everything.

I want to take a moment this morning with these three points. I pray that your questions get answered by God this morning. I believe He can and will do that for you.

I. Wisdom is meaningless

Some hold degrees and would disagree with that statement.

They worked hard to get that degree and spent a lot of money to get that degree, a lot of time to get that degree.

To them, to say that would be foolish

Read 1:2-1:15 from the Bible

What is he saying here?

Book smart without God is meaningless.

Generations come and generations go.

The sun rises and sets everyday.

The wind blows everyday.

One day each of us will die.

That is a fact! None of us are eternal in ourselves.

Book smart never saved anyone!

People keep coming up with bigger, better, faster, more expensive, and without God still cannot answer the most pressing questions of our lives.

1 Cor. 1:20-

“Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”