The Let Down of Life
(Ecclesiastes 1)
Intro
Note: most of these illustrations were borrowed from Sermon Central; further info on Larry Walker, the man who ascended 16,000 feet in a lawn chair with weather balloons can be found at truthorfiction.com Do a search there--it is a great illustration to read aloud.
1. a 5-year-old boy who came to his mother & asked, "Where did I come from?" The mother took a deep breath because she had dreaded the moment when he would ask that question. But she was determined to answer it truthfully. So she started explaining in explicit detail the whole reproductive system, conception, birth, everything.
About 20 minutes later, her bored little boy interrupted & said, "But mommy, where did I come from? Jimmy said he came from New York."
2. Well, where did we come from? Where are we going? What’s it all about?
3. For Millennia, Philosophers have long written about the meaning of life.
1.Some have concluded that life has no meaning; others tell us to pick any meaning we want and pretend it is so. If it works, don’t worry about whether it is true.
2.Most of us think about the deeper things of life here and there, in bits and pieces; if we think about life by setting aside massive periods of time, we would probably become severely depressed.
3.So some folks partially follow the advice of Solomon and try to enjoy life.
For example, there is the true story of Lawn Chair Larry. Larry Walters in 1982 tied 45 weather balloons to his lawnchair. To his surprise, he went up to 16,000 feet but dropped the bee bee gun he brought to shoot down balloons and descend. Finally a plane spotted him and called for help.
4.But there more meaning to life than merely finding ways to distract ourselves.
5.Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes near the end of his life, about 935BC.
6.Solomon addresses some of life’s biggest questions: How can we really matter? Where can we find true intimacy, or can we? What is a healthy balance in life? Why are we here? Can we understand why things happen the way they do? Does life have meaning? IT is THE book for those who want to think deeply about life.
7.Chuck Swindoll summarizes 3 lessons from Ecclesiastes:
(1) The sensual lure of something better tomorrow robs us of joys offered today.
(2) The personal temptation to escape is always stronger than the realization of its consequence.
(3) The final desitnation, if God is absent from the scene, will not satisfy.
MAIN IDEA: Most of us will come or have come to the point in life where we realize that life is disappointing, that our dreams will not all come true, and that our impact on this world is marginal. The let down of life will get to us sometime, somewhere.
TS--------We Christians are not afraid to think about these things; because we have a Word from God, we are better equipped to address the questions and objections common to mankind. We can tell it like it is because we have a purpose beyond what is visible "under the sun."
I. It Seems We Make No Permanent Impact on the World (1-11)
1. Solomon illustrates how everything goes on after our generation dies (1-10)
(1) the earth vs4;
(2) the sun rise/set cycle, vs. 5,
(3) wind, vs. 6,
(4) rivers, vs. 7,
(5) human discontent, vs. 8,
(6) repetition o history, vs. 9, and
(7)nothing intrinsically new , vs. 10
(8) "Nothing really changes, everything remains the same" (Larry Norman)
2. We see evidence of all these truths today
(1) Ray Stedman quotation:
(2) Hippies--anti-materialism, gave birth to greatest materialistic generation ever
(3) impact upon our descendents is limited--my great grandfather’s picture
3. What we do today will be forgotten tomorrow (11)
(1) Tony Campolo said, "If you ever start to feel proud, just remember that soon after your body has been lowered into the grave, your family & friends will be eating potato salad & telling jokes, & you’ll be history."
(2) If you went to college you probably attended classes in a building that was named after some person. Did you know who that person was? Did you even care? Probably not! It was just "X" building, named after someone who did something before you got there. It was all ancient history to you, & you were only concerned about the here & now.
Most of us will come or have come to the point in life where we realize that life is disappointing, that our dreams will not all come true, and that our impact on this world is marginal. The let down of life will get to us sometime, somewhere.
We Christians are not afraid to think about these things; because we have a Word from God, we are better equipped to address the questions and objections common to mankind. We can tell it like it is because we have a purpose beyond what is visible "under the sun."
II. The More Our Eyes Are Opened, the More Emotionally Painful Our Lives Are (12-18)
1. Solomon’s summary (18): Life is a let down; our impact, marriage, family, job, identity -- what is rarely matches our dreams
2. Wrong ways to handle these unpleasant realities
(1) deny it
(2) ignore it (ignorance IS bliss)
(3) become obsessed with it (depression and despair)
(4) anesthesize it -- drugs, mind altering addictions, tv
3. Here it is, folks, the right way to live life:
"Face reality and then look beyond it to God and eternity, we then become free to enjoy the simple pleasures of life." This is THE LESSON and SUMMARY of the entire Book of Ecclesiastes. It is a great PHILOSOPHY of life for every Christian.
4. Through our relationship to God through Jesus Christ, we CAN actually do things that last for ETERNITY We can find both significance and security in Him, the two greatest needs of a meaningful life.
CONCLUSION
1. Most of us will come or have come to the point in life where we realize that life is disappointing, that our dreams will not all come true, and that our impact on this world is marginal. The let down of life will get to us sometime, somewhere.
We Christians are not afraid to think about these things; because we have a Word from God, we are better equipped to address the questions and objections common to mankind. We can tell it like it is because we have a purpose beyond what is visible "under the sun."
2. God has a plan for this world, human history in general, and our history in particular.
3. That plan includes many folks who will come to know Christ by faith.
4. Apart from a relationship to the living God, life is futile. It is merely using up time; for the believer, life can be an investment in eternity.
5. How can we come to know God? What do we have to do?
