God Is In It--7 1-10.docx
Ecclesiastes 7:1-10
As we make a turn into chapter 7 Solomon describes the “better things” that come to the life of the person who follows God’s Wisdom.
These words add incredible “balance” to the life of a child of God.
Solomon uses the word “better” seven times in this chapter
I want us to see the first seven times and how it relates to us in so many different areas of life
Read Verses so that We can Know Him and Make Him Known
1) Your Name In Light of the End—vs. 1
a) “A good reputation is more valuable than the most expensive perfume”
b) A good name is that which has influence and character, that which changes lives
c) That which has a fine reputation
d) We live in a nation that puts a lot of stock into the “name”
e) One manufacturer says it this way: “the quality goes in before the name goes on”
f) Likewise, as quality goes into a life the good name goes on
g) Look at vs. 1b
h) There is a contrast that goes on
i) The day a person receives his name and the day when that name shows up in the obituary column it is the life between those two events will determine whether the name leaves behind a lovely fragrance or a foul stench
j) If a person dies with a good name, his reputation is sealed and the family need not worry
k) In that sense, the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth
l) Someone said, “every man has three names, the one his father and mother gave him, one others call him and the one he acquires himself”
m) Prov. 10:7—”The memory of the righteous is blessed, But the name of the wicked will rot.
n) Prov. 22:1—”A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold.
o) A good name is not securely established until the day of death, someone who still lives may still ruin his reputation (remembered by the way you finish)
p) Look at Mary of Bethany
q) Matt. 26:6-13—”Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste? “For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. “For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. “For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. “Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”
r) Matt. 26:13—”“Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”
2) Your Date with Death—vs. 2
a) “it is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you are going to die and it is a good thing to think about it while there is still time”
b) Listen, there is a danger that we might try to avoid confrontations with the reality of death and as a result not take life as seriously as we should
c) Ps. 90:12—”So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.
d) “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die”
e) To be in the presence of sickness or death has a tendency to bring us quickly to the really crucial issues of life
3) Your Jokes in Comparison to seriousness—vs. 3-4
a) I have a hard time here, because I like to joke a lot
b) I like to pick with my kids
c) “Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence upon us. Yes, a wise man thinks much of death, while the fool thinks only of having a good time now”
d) Teaches us that there is a lesson to be gained and work to be accomplished by sorrow
e) A sorrow shared may bring more inner happiness than an evening with backslapping
f) After a quick laugh, it’s amazing how quickly the joke is forgotten
g) But we seldom forget strolling a graveyard and what we learn there about the great men and women who have shaped lives
h) I’ve seldom had a wiser audience than in a funeral service
i) They really listen
j) Vs. 4
k) ILL—There is a story about the sinking of the Titanic. As a frightened woman was getting into the lifeboat. She realized that she left something in her stateroom. She asked if she could go back and retrieve it. They told her she had five minutes. She ran back through the crowds through the toss of the boat and the water in the hallways. She ran past her expensive jewelry and grabbed three oranges. She found her way back to the lifeboat. What seemed to be small earlier was now the most important thing.
l) Life and death gives us new perspective.
4) Rebukes in Light of Words of Praise—vs. 5-6
a) Solomon compared the praise of fools to the burning thorns in a campfire
b) You hear a lot of noise but you don’t get much lasting good
c) “A wise person’s rebuke will accomplish far more in our lives than will the flattery of fools”
d) If we are in earnest about God’s good plan, we must be ready for serious conversation with men and women who are experienced in life and be open to criticism from the,
e) Most of us fail to hear the rebukes of the wise
f) It may be coming from your spouse, boss, children, parents, etc.
5) The End in light of the Beginning—vs. 7-9
a) Beware of easy routes, they often become expensive detours that are difficult and painful
b) The “long haul” is better than the “shortcut”
c) Sometimes we like shortcuts but they also can be dangerous
d) Vs. 7
e) Bribery appears to be a quick way to get things done, but it only turns a wise man into a fool and encourages the corruption already in the human heart
f) Vs. 8
g) Far better that we wait patiently and humbly for God to work out His will than get angry and demand our own way
h) Vs. 9
i) Things don’t go right from the start and our tendency is to “be angry”
j) If we put vs. 8-9 together and see how often we embark on something with pride in our ability to carry it through but abandon it because of a few discouragements
k) Then we may become angry and hit at other people as an excuse for our incompetence
l) ILL-Joseph began as a slave but ended up a sovereign
6) Today in light of Yesterday—vs. 10
a) “the good ole days”
b) It has been said that “the good old days” are the combination of a bad memory and a good imagination, and often that is true
c) Yesterday is past and cannot be changed, and tomorrow may not come, so make the most of today
d) This does not mean we shouldn’t learn from the past or prepare for the future because both are important
e) It means that we must live in the will of God and not be paralyzed by yesterday or hypnotized by tomorrow
f) While you are dreaming of the future regretting the past—which is all you have—time slips from you and is gone
Listen when God is in it, all is better.
