FINDING THE MEANING IN LIFE
TEXT: ECCLESIASTES. 1:1,2
INTRO: One of the funniest catchphrases of recent years is from an old Wendy’s commercial. An elderly woman and her friends open their hamburger buns and found them virtually bare. The perceptive old lady, who was able to see beyond the obvious, asked, "Where’s the beef?"
Many people ask this same question about life. They find themselves sandwiched between birth and death, and , unfortunately, they often find themselves in a sandwich without substance--a sandwich with no meat. Struggling to find identity, to find meaning in life, they ask, "Where’s the beef?"
ILL: To many life is like a touchdown scored after the whistle has blown. They fight to gain ground. They struggle to get to the end-zone. They score that touchdown, achieve their victory in life, only to discover that it doesn’t count. Maybe your have felt that--that life is all pushing for yardage but never making a first down, reaching for the long pass but having it intercepted.
Striving for the meaning in life is often frustrating. Leading us to give in to so many temptations in hopes of bringing satisfaction. This is exactly what Satan wants. He will try every trick in the book to find the chink in a believer’s armor. And no matter what his method, his goal is simple: to keep the believer from finding the real meaning in life.
The whole book of Ecclesiastes is dedicated to exploring the difference between life and existence. God choose Solomon to write this so important book. Looking back in his life Solomon was asking, "Who am I?" "Why am I here?" "Where am I going?"
Eccl. 1:2
He begins this book by stating that all is empty, vain, without substance. But lets not stop there He hoes have a positive message for each of us no matter what our age or lifestyle.
He tried it all and evaluates three of the major themes in life.
I. DOES PLEASURE PROVIDE PURPOSE? 2:1
A. I sought in my heart to give myself unto wine" vs.3
1. Would’ve been at home in our society
2. Today we have many extra drugs to try.
3. He was a thrill seeker. Trying to fill a void in his life. So many are desperately trying to find solutions to the problems of meaningless lives, but their solutions lead only to bigger problems.
a. However many will never live long enough to experience victory or defeat.
b. 4.6 million adolescents from 14-17yrs. Experience the negative consequences of alcohol each year. Yet nothing new. Vs.1 All it vanity.
B. I made me great works vs.4-10
1. There was nothing he didn’t do.
2. He didn’t go to the party; he brought the party to himself. But when the party was over he was alone.
ILL: Ever wait eagerly for something special then find that when the time came it was really a let down? Ever try to catch the wind? It’s an exercise in frustration. Every time you grab, it slips through your fingers.
3. How many of us like King Solomon are grabbing for things that are impossible to hold onto and are worthless?
4. This generation has so many new opportunities that previous generations never dreamed. But new opportunities have not given new meaning to life. The mere accumulation of things will not and cannot provide meaning and purpose in life.
All the wealth that Solomon had, he still could only say "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity."
II. DOES KNOWLEDGE PROVIDE PURPOSE?
He decided that it is better to be smart than ignorant. So he set out to become well-educated.
A. I turned myself to behold wisdom vs 12-14
He achieved his goal. I Kings 3:12
1. Did his vast knowledge and wisdom give him a reason for living? No. In fact, it probably made him even more miserable. He realized that his fate was no different than that of the biggest fool in town. In spite of his knowledge and riches he would still die just like the poor ignorant bum in the gutter.
2. His Ph.D. in world knowledge was no protection from life’s misfortunes and from death. He decided that education, too was vanity.
B. NOTE: Let me point out that even though one cannot find the true meaning of life in education, an education is still essential in life.
1. We live in a highly educated society. Knowledge has abounded.
2. Without at least a high school education a person will find it extremely difficult to find a satisfying job of any kind.
3. There is no denying that education is very important, but the point that Solomon was making when he wrote these words is that it can’t give meaning to life. Education can improve the quality of life, but, ultimately, it can’t make life worth living.
III. DOES WORK PROVIDE PURPOSE?
He decided that if pleasure or education does not provide purpose, maybe work might fill the void in his life.
He turned his attention to his job. Surely he had the greatest job in the world. He was the king of a great nation with great wealth and great wisdom. People came from all over the world to meet and talk with him. His work must have given him great purpose to his life?
A. Yea, I hated all my labor Vs. 17,18
1. I am breaking my neck to build up Israel, and when I die somebody is going to take my place. Who knows what he will do with my kingdom?
B. We can’t change to overall system 3:1-2,8
1. There is a since of irony here. We work all our lives yet we gain very little. We work within a system that is already planned, functioning, and unchangeable. We can make contributions but never change it.
2. We live to die. We are locked in with death as well as health, happiness as well as misery. Solomon asks, "What profit is there for the worker if God has already got all this locked in? Why work if He’s got us pinned in this way?" 3:9
Even this is vanity. 2:17
IV. AN ANSWER: ETERNITY IN THEIR HEARTS 3:11
This is the answer to Solomon’s search and ours for meaning in your life.
A. World - ages - eternity.
1. This means that God has placed in every man’s soul a big question mark. There is nothing in finite time that can provide the answer, however, because of the question mark, people all over the world are looking for a god to fill the void. Without that, life has no purpose, no meaning. As Solomon said all is vanity, or emptiness.
2. Many people try many different solutions but there is only one answer. God has set eternity in the hearts of men, and only He can satisfy the heart’s desire. Verse 12,13 These things are the gift of God.
B. Who owns my life?
1. We forget that life and it’s labor is a gift from God. We fill we have earned these things. We set our agendas and get angry when things get interrupted. But your life is not your own.
2. James 4:13-15 Many of us have been busy in our day and suddenly received that life shattering phone call, then every thing changes. All plans are off.
Or a regular day at work is suddenly interrupted by heart-attack.
a. We need to realize that even though life is given to us, life is not due us; it is a gift.
b. As a gift, it is not earned nor deserved. If not treated respectfully it can be taken back.
C. Job found the answer. Job 1:12, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
The whole essence of this book is the principle of taking back gifts.
1. After losing everything he had including his health, he cries out "Why are you doing this to me, God? I’m righteous; I’ve done no wrong!"
2. God replied in a whirlwind. "Who is this that darkens counsel by works without knowledge? Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct me." God asked Job where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth.
3. Jobs reply was humbled silence. He got the point. Do you?
4. God alone is the giver of life. All that we have is a gift from Him. It is perfectly within His right to take it away. He was telling Job, "If you know me, Job, that’s all you really need to know."
a. The reason job maintained his integrity is because God filled the void in Job’s life.
b. A man is more than what he has. He may loose all that he has, but what he is depends upon his faith in God.
5. Learn to say thank-you to God for what you do have.
V. CONCLUSION: JESUS IS OUR ANSWER Acts 4:12
Jesus is the only sacrifice that can reconcile man to God.
Jesus is the only one that can redeem lost mankind.
Jesus is the only one who can atone for the sins of the world.
ILL: Lady given a speeding ticket, pled guilty. Judge said fine is $200. She said I can’t pay. Judge takes off his robe, steps down from the bench and pays the fine.
That’s what happened at Calvary. God took off the glory of heaven
and put on humanity to go to Calvary to pay the price for our sins.
So the question remains in your life. "Where’s the beef?"
The fact is without God, your life is just like the one Solomon described in Eccl..-- vanity, and emptiness. Pleasure, education, the job, wealth-- these can never give life meaning. They are just fillers, not substance. They are just the condiments but the real meat of life is Jesus. "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10
