INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Last week we started looking at the Amazing Race of life that we run.
• We learned that we need to know where we are going so we can win the race and knowing where we are going will help us to stay strong and focused.
• Today we are going to look at another aspect of our Amazing Race!
• If you have seen the show, one of the things that you will notice is that no one runs the race alone. There are teams of two that run together.
• The teams are sometimes husband and wife, some are other family members teamed together, and sometimes you will simply have two friends who are teamed up.
• I wonder why the show chose to make the race a team effort instead of an individual against individual.
• I think is makes the race more interesting.
• The race we run is full of adventure, intrigue, stress, and joy. During our race we will experience the full range of emotions.
• Today we are going to look at the how amazing our race can be with a spiritual partner.
• Our text today will be Ecclesiastes 4:7-12, if you would turn your bibles there.
• SLIDE #2
• We will begin in verses 7-8.
• Ecclesiastes 4:7-8 (ESV) 7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.
• SLIDE #3
• First let us look at the dangers of being a lone ranger.
SERMON
I. THE DANGERS OF BEING A “LONE RANGER”. (7-8)
• There are a lot of bad things that can happen when we decide to try to run the race by ourselves.
• When I speak of running with a partner, I am not telling you that you need a spouse.
• I am talking about the person who is trying to run their race alone, without others around them.
• Not having spiritual partners around to run our with race can cause many pit falls. Let us examine just a few of them.
• SLIDE #4
1. We can become lonely.
• Lonely- Lone Ranger? Go figure.
• Look at verse 8. It speaks of the person who has no family around them. The writer of Ecclesiastes does not see this as a good thing.
• Verse 8 speaks of a person who literally is without one standing by his side, a second standing near him, i.e., without wife and without friend; also, as the words following show, without son and brother.
• Do you know there are a lot of fun activities we can do in life, than when done a lone lose their luster.
• I cannot imagine going out the play golf by myself. Who would laugh at my shots? I would not want to go fishing alone, who would see the one that got away?
• We had our Super Bowl Party, it made the great event of the Super Bowl even more enjoyable because there were others to share the moment with.
• Do you know of another activity that can be so much more enjoyable when we are with others, when we have a partner?
• The Amazing Race that we are all apart of!
• There can be many lonely moments in that race that can be overcome simply by having someone you can rely on to run with you.
• The person depicted in our passage is all alone.
• Do not let this happen to you. You need to find a spiritual partner to help you on the journey.
• Let us look at another pitfall of running the race by ourselves.
• SLIDE #5
2. We can become self-centered.
• As we stay in verse 8, there person in question has no one around them. What can happen to us when we have no one around us; no one to keep us accountable; no one who relies on us?
• Our tendency is to make it all about ourselves, to become self-centered.
• Verse 8 tells us this person’s eyes are never satisfied with riches. They can never get enough because it is all about them.
• Becoming the center of our existence can be one of the worst things that can happen to us.
• Everything can become magnified; we can lose proper perspective concerning problems and tough times.
• Having people to run the race with can help keep us from falling into the trap of being self-centered.
• In the Gospel of Luke 12:16-20, we have a story of a man who had lost perspective on life, he became self-centered and self-indulgent.
• SLIDE #6
• Luke 12:16-20 (ESV) And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?
• This man needed a partner to run his race with, one who would help keep him grounded!
• A third pitfall we need to examine when we run without a partner is that we can become void of purpose.
• SLIDE #7
3. We can become void of purpose.
• When we run alone, it can be easy to start to question why we are running.
• The person who is a “Lone Ranger” can work themselves to the bone; but for what? For whom? For what reason?
• When I worked at Square D, there were times in which I wanted to quit so bad I could almost walk out the door. I asked why I was even there at times. For me my purpose that I was there to provide for my family.
• I knew the hours and time I was putting in had a purpose.
• There were times in Bible College, after getting 4 hours sleep on a consistent basis that I wondered what I was doing. I always hooked into my purpose, to be a minister of the Gospel.
• In verse 8, we are told the person who is a lone does not even take the time to ask why he is working so hard when he could be out doing other things.
• Verse 8 concludes by saying, “This also is vanity and an unhappy business.”
• Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiastes tried everything in life only to find it all to be worthless or vain except of the pursuit of God. He may have been on of the wealthiest people to ever live, yet when it was all said and done; obeying God was the one pursuit that had real purpose.
• Now we will look at verses 9-12 as we examine the blessings of having a partner to run with.
• SLIDE #8
II. THE BLESSINGS OF HAVING A PARTNER. (9-12)
• There are four blessings we can extract from this passage. Let us look to verse 9 for the first one.
• SLIDE #9
• Ecclesiastes 4:9 (ESV) Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.
• One of the blessings of having a partner to run with is that:
• SLIDE #10
1. A partner can help us to succeed. (9)
• There are so many times when having a partner can help us to be successful in what we endeavor to do.
• As we are running the Amazing Race, a partner can help us to succeed. If you have seen any of the Amazing Race show, a partner can be the difference between winning and losing.
• I remember watching the Lone Ranger when I was a kid. I remember the Lone Ranger getting into a jam and even the Lone Ranger had Tonto to come in and help save the day. He helped the Lone Ranger to get the bad guy in the end.
• Our race can be such a joy and such a success when we decide to run it with a partner.
• The joint labors of two produce much more effect than the efforts of a solitary worker. Companionship is helpful and profitable.
• As I watched the Super Bowl, this was so apparent. When the Giants looked like they were sure to lose, one of the Giant receivers caught a ball on his helmet and held onto it when one of the hardest hitters in the game tried to knock the ball away.
• Without the teammate making a catch, the game would most likely ended on a different note.
• The next blessing we will examine is found in verse 10.
• SLIDE #11
• Ecclesiastes 4:10 (ESV) For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!
• From verse 10 we learn:
• SLIDE #12
2. A partner can pick us up when we stumbles. (10)
• There are times when we are going to stumble and fall. A partner can be there to help pick us up.
• Have you ever started to fall only to have someone there to help keep you from falling or they were there immediately to pick you up off the ground?
• Have you had a spiritual fall and had someone pick you up?
• Do you remember the “I have fallen and I can’t get up.” Commercials?
• I used to think they were kind of funny because they were somewhat cheesy. But Life Line was right there to help the person get off the ground.
• A partner can be a spiritual lifeline.
• Those commercials may have been somewhat humorous UNTIL you found yourself in that position.
• There are times when we will stumble spiritually when we will need someone to help get us off the ground because we cannot get up on our own.
• Verse 11 unlocks another blessing for us.
• SLIDE #13
• Ecclesiastes 4:11 (ESV) Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?
• SLIDE #14
I CHANGED THIS POINT. YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT SLIDE
3. A partner can help comfort us. (11)
• The passage tells us that if two lie together they can stay warm.
• This goes to the issue of comfort.
• Most people are not comfortable when they are cold. For some being cold is one of the worst things that can happen to them.
• We have seen the movies where people are trapped in the freezing cold and to survive, they would lie close to stay warm.
• I think a group of men would just die instead of doing that.
• Do you know that the world can be a cold cruel place? We need someone that will comfort us when we are smacked in the face by that realization.
• A partner can bring much needed warmth.
• In verse 12 we see our final blessing.
• SLIDE #15
• Ecclesiastes 4:12 (ESV) And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
• SLIDE #16
4. A partner can give us strength to overcome obstacles. (12)
• For those who used to watch the Lone Ranger, do you remember all the times it looked like the Lone Ranger was going to be overcome by the bad guy? Who showed up? Tonto. He helped save the day.
• The context speaks of a physical confrontation, but we can take this a bit deeper.
• A partner can give us the needed strength to overcome the many obstacles we will face in life.
• If two hold together, that is seen to be good; but if there be three, this threefold bond is likened to a cord formed of three threads, which cannot easily be broken.
• Strength comes in numbers and in unity.
• The Spartan army was known for their ability to fight as a team. 300 men were able to hold off the Persian army of something like 10,000. They were able to do this because they fought as a unit. They were united in purpose.
• Do not run alone because a partner can give you the strength you need to endure!
CONCLUSION
• SLIDE #17
• The Amazing race we are all a part of is a great adventure. The race is too important for us to try to run it alone.
• We all need spiritual partners to run with.
• Who are you running with? The ultimate partner is Jesus. Are you running with Him?
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