Living A Life That Matters

Living a life that matters

Ecclesiastes1:1-11 + selected Scriptures

Good morning everyone, glad that you have joined us. Please turn to Ecclesiastes 1:2-11

I hope the title of the message caught your attention. Living a life that matters!

I am sure in some way that this is our prayer.

The older I get the more I don’t want to waste time with things that don’t matter. Life matters because you realize that it is not all about you but about what you have done to make an impact in people’s lives that the Lord has brought around you including family and friends.

We will look at Solomon this morning. The son of David and Bethsheba. A man who literally had anything and everything he wanted.

We are going to look at what he says about life and hopefully be able to apply it to our lives this morning.

Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 Read

Question:

What has priority in your life? Your spouse or girlfriend or boyfriend? Your kids, your pleasures? Your job? Is it all about you?

Where does God fit in? Does He even fit in?

Fill in the blank- “My life would have meaning if..........”

Sinbad has a comedy routine about getting older and being one with your spouse –

He says that the two of you getting older together have become one good person.

One has a good right hip and one has a good leg and that’s how you have balance.

Marriage is about falling apart together- you need each other.

One can see and one can hear.

You become a team.

My life has changed as I get older. A few years ago, I would have never imagined me being where I am but I am thankful, and grateful, and I want to make the best of every moment to be pleasing to my Lord and to my family because they both mean everything to me.

I realize I will not live forever. Some of you may be at my funeral.

My body tells me that. I cannot do the same things as before.

I’ve watched love ones die.

I see my babies having babies.

I am a Great-grandfather two times.

I see these kids getting older and saying things that I said at their age.

The ideal would be to get answers to hard questions at a young age so you can enjoy the benefits from it, not wait until we get old because we are not promised tomorrow.

Solomon came from a dysfunctional family. I don’t know -Does that bring you any comfort?

The son of an adulterous relationship.

The son of a dad who killed a man to cover up his sins and actions.

Solomon gives a description of what the world thought was important, he has tried it and tells us that it left him empty and meaningless.

Quote:

To have the right priorities, a man’s focus must not be on the head, but on the heart, not on himself, but on God, not on time, but on eternity. Roy Lessin

Here is a thought from your Pastor:

Too much is never enough, but it is always more than we can handle. (Let that sink in)

2 choices

Learn from other people’s mistakes and avoid them in our lives.

Learn the hard way-Think that you are smarter and that you will have a different outcome.

Life journey (I said before) first breath to the last breath- what you do between the two is your journey and it will effect eternity for you. It will decide what meaning your life had.

You can race through life, pursuing every dollar that can be made, every pleasure that can be had, and in the end will look back and see that you have not made much impact...or you can stop and pull over to see the scenery, see what God has put before you, and enjoy where God has for you right now!

Statements like:

I would be happy if... AND THEN YOU FILL IN THE BLANKS

I had a boyfriend or girlfriend.

I was Free from my parents.

I get married, and have children.

My parents would love each other again.

I had enough money.

I Were popular.

I was Faster, stronger, more athletic.

Pretty

We spend our lives “wishing on a star” always wondering what it would be like at a spot other than where we are.

We spend so much time living our own lives, we never get involved in other’s lives.

Solomon

v1 “The words of the teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem, meaningless, meaningless, utterly meaningless, everything is meaningless.”

Solomon about wisdom/knowledge alone:

v12 “I, the teacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men. I have seen all the things that are done under the sun. All this is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”