Embracing Life
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-15)
Intro
1. A major part of who we are and what we do is determined by fear.
2. Fear is not necessarily evil. Legitimate fear of danger, for example, results in restraint: whether driving, playing football, or welding, caution is a virtue.
3. There are fears that come as a result of childhood trauma that we may never get over. Here are a few from a list of several thousand. I chose those beginning with the letter ¡§B¡¨ as a manageable list; there are about 4 times as many uder ¡§a¡¨ or ¡§e¡¨ for example
Bacillophobia- Fear of microbes.
Bacteriophobia- Fear of bacteria.
Ballistophobia- Fear of missiles or bullets.
Bolshephobia- Fear of Bolsheviks.
Barophobia- Fear of gravity.
Basophobia or Basiphobia- Inability to stand. Fear of walking or falling.
Bathmophobia- Fear of stairs or steep slopes.
Bathophobia- Fear of depth.
Batophobia- Fear of heights or being close to high buildings.
Batrachophobia- Fear of amphibians, such as frogs, newts, salamanders, etc.
Belonephobia- Fear of pins and needles. (Aichmophobia)
Bibliophobia- Fear of books.
Blennophobia- Fear of slime.
Bogyphobia- Fear of bogeys or the bogeyman.
Botanophobia- Fear of plants.
Bromidrosiphobia or Bromidrophobia- Fear of body smells.
Brontophobia- Fear of thunder and lightning.
Bufonophobia- Fear of toads.
3. But sometimes fears strap us and keep us from doing God¡¦s will.
4. One fear we all deal with is the fear of life¡¦s uncertainties¡K.
5. It is normal and okay to be afraid, but we can¡¦t let it strap us. Ps. 56:3 says, ¡§When I am afraid, I will trust in you.¡¨
Main Idea: The fear of life is often seen in resisting change and living in denial of the seasons of life. If we try to fight the seasons of life rather than accept them, we will miss the blessings God has for us and we will fail to mature. We need to embrace life and the wonder of being human.
TS--------„³ Solomon offers us some great advice in this area, and I will attempt to sum up this advice in two concepts.
I. Do Not Try to Circumvent the Normal Life Cycle, but Embrace It (1-8)
1. God has ordained that mankind typically experience many seasons of life
2. God could change human nature, human philosophy, or human society if He so pleased---but He isn¡¦t because He doesn¡¦t¡K.
3. Verse 1 and verse 11 provide the gridwork for understanding Solomon¡¦s poetic list
(1) verse 1 does not encourage fatalism (Que Sera, Sera), but rather a realistic picture of the nature of life¡K
(2) forewarned is forearmed¡K.
(3) God¡¦s children should participate fully in what it means to be human, sin excepted; they should not expect children to act like adults, but they should
likewise not fear aging and changing ones behavior in light of that aging¡K
(4) verse 11a implies a need to discern what is appropriate based upon life¡¦s seasons
4. In a typical lifespan, you will experience many of the seasons Solomon describes: ler¡¦s note his list (1-8)
(1) does this mean that all these details in each person¡¦s life are foreordained?
(2) no; God is particular to point out things that are foreordained; if everything was foreordained, it would seem silly to point out some things as foreordained¡K
(3) God knows everything that will happen, and many things He direcetly orchestrates¡K.
(4) What God HAS ordained is this typical pattern for the typical person¡K
5. Life¡¦s seasons must be accepted, not avoided¡K.
(1) a four year old child asks over 400 questions a day
(2) the average person over 50 will have spent one year looking for lost items (16 minutes a day, about 2 hours a week)
(3) the average person speaks about 31,500 words per day
(4) 27% of U.S. male college students believe life is a meaningless existential hell
(5) 7% of Americans think Elvis is alive¡K
6. This includes the difficult times:
SermonCentral PRO
NO PLACE FOR PAIN
In his sermon on dealing with trials, Nashville pastor Byron Yawn points out: "For most, especially American Christians, even the remotest suggestion that there could be value in our suffering is viewed as uncaring and insensitive. We have been conditioned by our culture to believe the opposite. A collective attitude that exalts comfort and views personal happiness as the end of all things has blurred our perspective. There is no place for pain in American Christianity.
"Because of this distorted perception, we rarely stop to search for the ¡¦hand of God¡¦ in the midst of our trouble. Seeking to understand God¡¦s purposes in our pain is all but foreign. As a result, embracing pain¡¦s role in our sanctification is usually the farthest thing from our minds. As one so aptly put it, ¡¦Most people count it all joy when they escape trials. James said to count it all joy in the midst of trials.¡¦ We need to come to grips with a significant truth: God¡¦s will is not our happiness, but His Glory. The two may, or may not, be directly related."
SOURCE: PreachingNow Vol. 1, No. 20. Tue 9/3/2002. Found on Sermon Central
7. We are out for our SHORT TERM good, God is out for our LONG TERM good and development¡KJamie¡¦s Kitchen¡K.short vs. enduring¡K
8. It is normal and good to try to avoid unnecessary misery; it would be insane to think otherwise; nonetheless, life¡¦s difficult times are part of the mix!
Application
1. Change is inevitable
2. We can deny it with all our might¡K.it will happen¡K.aging¡Kface lifts, exercise 4 hours a day
3. Or we can seek God and His will during the seasons of life¡Kand keep growing
4. Len Garasha, 83¡K¡¨I¡¦ve finally learned to wait upon God w/out rushing into things¡K¡¨
Main Idea: The fear of life is often seen in resisting change and living in denial of the seasons of life. If we try to fight the seasons of life rather than accept them, we will miss the blessings God has for us and we will fail to mature. We need to embrace life and the wonder of being human.
II. Although You May Not Understand What God is Doing, Enjoy Life With Him at Your Side (9-15)
1. Sometimes people think that because I am a pastor, I understand or like everything God does or says¡K.
(1) I do not. But I realize that I am the problem!
(2) Rather than define God into a more manageable deity, I recall the words of Isaiah 55 8: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
2. Find the BEAUTY in the seasons of life (11)
(1) sometimes the beauty is pleasure and enjoyment
(2) sometimes the beauty is development and growth
(3) sometimes the beauty is giving to others
(4) sometimes it is a test of faith¡K.
3. Enjoy the eternal perspective (11b)
(1) mankind instinctively KNOWS that this life is not all there is
(2) some have distorted this into reincarnation, others, into a shadowy existence in Hades (the Greeks); Christians and Jews understand the realities of heaven and hell¡K
(3) It is BECAUSE God has set eternity in our hearts that we look for a lasting purpose¡Kand it is because of this eternity that Solomon struggles throughout Ecclesiastes and why great philosophers become frustrated with their lack of resolution to life¡¦s big questions¡K.
(4) We are not going to find satisfaction through observation or speculation, as Solomon continues to show us; it is only through God¡¦s revelation that we can f ind real meaning¡K.anything else is conjured, false, strained, and unsastisfying.
4. Although it is easy to become disenchanted with the seeming futility of life, we must trust God because we will all answer to him (15)
(1) sometimes the best argument still is, ¡§Because the Bible says so.¡¨
(2) some people spend their entire lifetimes fighting and refusing to accept human nature¡Kpeople who don¡¦t clean up after themselves, people who are chronically late, people who do not get things done on time, people who cannot shut up, people who will not express their true feelings, people who lose their tempers, people who are lazy and unmotivated, people who are perfectionistic and look down upon others, etc.., etc..
(3) Although we can confront individuals about certain things and sometimes see some changes, none of us are going to make a dent on human nature¡K.we make even LESS of a dent upon God (none at all)¡K.so we can either fight Him or accept the way He is¡Kand the nature of life¡K
Main Idea: The fear of life is often seen in resisting change and living in denial of the seasons of life. If we try to fight the seasons of life rather than accept them, we will miss the blessings God has for us and we will fail to mature. We need to embrace life and the wonder of being human.
CONCLUSION
1. God is THE only ROCK you can hold on to.
2. Everything else is temporal, shifting, monotonous¡K
3. But God¡¦s ways and purposes are for our good¡K.and that where faith comes in.
4. Faith, or lack of it, is all about our view of God¡¦s character¡K.
--------We glorify and worship God¡¦s character by faith, which is the ultimate praise: our trust, especially when we do not understand¡K
--------When God disappoints us and we pull back, we are tying to get even with Him¡Kbut although God rejoices in our worship, He does not NEED it; we only hurt ourselves¡K.
5. Rather than fear life, we need to wrestle with trusting God¡K.and finding and embracing what is good in our current phase of life¡K.
