Summary: The secret to a fulfilling, meaningful life is not in pleasure, drink, job, fame or power. . . so where is it? The answer is in making God your priority: "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth..." *HANDOUT INCLUDED*

Sermon #2 - The Foundation of Fulfillment: Start With God

Last week, we found in our study that fulfillment doesn’t come with anything that the world has to offer. Even the people that have reached the level that they were reaching for, have found that it doesn’t fulfill. For instance,

Roman emperor Septimius, said, "I have been everything, and it is worth nothing.”

There’s a guy who was one of the most powerful men and wealthy men on the planet, and it didn’t satisfy. But it’s not just men from 2,000 or 3,000 years ago.

Patricia Bosworth, in her biography of actor Marlon Brando, recalls this quote from Brando: "I’m a balding, middle-aged failure. I’ve tried everything. . . .(sleeping around), drinking, working. None of them mean anything."

I know that’s not the way you want your life to turn out. Everyone wants to have significance. Everyone wants to matter, and wants to make a difference with their life.

The CEO of Apple Computers looked at the guy who was President of Coca Cola, and said, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want a chance to change the world?”

The guy from Coca-Cola signed up to change the world.

The question is this: What foundation can you build upon to ensure that your life is significant? What’s the foundation for finding a fulfilling life that makes a difference?

Solomon spends the first 11 chapters of the book exploring and rejecting everything that most people try to find fulfillment in today:

- Sex

- Money

- Pleasure

- Power

- Fame

- Job

Then, when we arrive at the 12th chapter, we find the conclusion of Solomon’s search. After he’s done all of these things, trying to find fulfillment, what is his conclusion?

What does he want to say to you?

Ec 12:1 ¶ Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them":

2 While the sun and the light, The moon and the stars, Are not darkened, And the clouds do not return after the rain;

3 In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, And the strong men bow down; When the grinders cease because they are few, And those that look through the windows grow dim;

4 When the doors are shut in the streets, And the sound of grinding is low; When one rises up at the sound of a bird, And all the daughters of music are brought low;

5 Also they are afraid of height, And of terrors in the way; When the almond tree blossoms, The grasshopper is a burden, And desire fails. For man goes to his eternal home, And the mourners go about the streets.

6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well.

7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.

What’s he saying? If you want to find fulfillment:You need to make God your PRIORITY! You need to let God run your life starting NOW!

Now, you might say, “No, Pastor. . . he just said that you need to “Remember your Creator!” That’s what I do. . . I believe in God, and I think about Him pretty regularly. I even came to church today.”

Well, I’m glad that you did. . . but this verse means much more than thinking about God while you’re young. In fact, just a few verses later, Solomon clarifies what he means by “remember”. . .

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.

14 For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.”

Here, Solomon tells us what he means by “remember your creator”. Two things:

1. Fear God.

What does it mean to fear God? It’s not like being afraid of snakes and spiders. . . instead, the Bible tells us what it is: “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.” (Proverbs 8:13) In another place, we read this: “by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.” (Prov. 16:6)

2. Keep His commandments.

The question is, will you remember the one who created you for a reason? Will you make HIM the PRIORITY in your life?

Let me ask you – what are YOUR priorities? You know how to measure your priorities? Here’s a simple test:

Ask yourself:

1. If I had only one month to live, how would my life change?

2. How is that different from how I’m living now?

3. What priorities does my life reflect today?

You see, priorities have a lot to do with how effective you are in your life at getting what you want.

You heard about the guy who wanted to get rich. He heard that the way to get rich was to work as hard as he could. The hardest work he knew was digging ditches. So he started digging. He didn’t get rich – he only got a backache!

Working hard without the right priorities will only get you pain and frustration!

Two specific ways in which you need to make God your priority:

1. Make God your priority early. “In the days of your youth. . .”

Did you notice when it says to think about God and his plan for you? “In the days of your youth!” In fact, it says, put God as a priority long before you get older. It mentions specific ways we notice we’re getting older:

- While the sun and the light, The moon and the stars, Are not darkened - Your eyes don’t see as well as they used to.

- In the day when the keepers of the house tremble. Your legs don’t carry you around as well as they used to.

- And the strong men bow down; Your shoulders slump a little more.

- When the grinders cease because they are few - Your teeth!

- And those that look through the windows grow dim - Your eyes.

- When one rises up at the sound of a bird - You don’t sleep well.

- And all the daughters of music are brought low; You don’t hear as well.

- When the almond tree blossoms - Your hair gets white.

- The grasshopper is a burden. You’re not as strong as you used to be.

- And desire fails. Anybody here know what that is?

The point is: Put a priority on God and his plan for your life EARLY.

Comedian Billy Crystal plays the part of a bored baby boomer who sells radio advertising time. One the day he visits his son’s school to tell about his work along with other fathers, he suddenly lets loose a deadpan monologue to the bewildered youngsters in the class:

Value this time in your life, kids, because this is the time in your life when you still have your choices. It goes by fast.

When you’re a teenager, you think you can do anything and you do. Your twenties are a blur.

Thirties you raise your family, you make a little money, and you think to yourself, "What happened to my twenties?"

Forties, you grow a little pot belly, you grow another chin. The music starts to get too loud, one of your old girlfriends from high school becomes a grandmother.

Fifties, you have a minor surgery -- you’ll call it a procedure, but it’s a surgery.

Sixties, you’ll have a major surgery, the music is still loud, but it doesn’t matter because you can’t hear it anyway.

Seventies, you and the wife retire to Fort Lauderdale. You start eating dinner at 2:00 in the afternoon, you have lunch around 10:00, breakfast the night before, spend most of your time wandering around malls looking for the ultimate soft yogurt and muttering, "How come the kids don’t call? How come the kids don’t call?"

The eighties, you’ll have a major stroke, and you end up babbling with some Jamaican nurse who your wife can’t stand, but who you call mama.

Any questions?

_______

Now, some of you might say, Pastor, I am already there. It’s too late for me to put a priority on God early.

2. Make God your priority in your everyday life. “Fear God and keep his commandments.”

Let me ask you a question: How many of you would like to change your life?

Someone said, “You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily.”

A lot of people don’t realize that God wants to be a priority in their EVERYDAY life! They think God wants them to come to church on Sunday, drop a few bucks in the offering, shake hands with the preacher and go home, and that’s it. They think that’s the foundation of fulfillment.

They don’t realize that God wants to give you fulfillment in every part and every day of your life!

This Scripture talks about keeping his commandments. Did you know there are commandments of Gods that help you find fulfillment in:

- Your marriage. (How you treat your spouse.)

- Your raising your kids. (How to do it so that they don’t grow up and break your heart!)

- Your friendships. (How to treat people and be a real friend.)

- Your money. (How to be successful in handling it well.)

His commands tell you all that you need to know to find fulfillment –

- IF

- IF You’ll put him first.

That’s the foundation of real fulfillment!

Next Sunday, I’m going to give you practical advice on how to order your life according to your priorities!

The Foundation of Fulfillment

Make God your PRIORITY!Everyone wants to matter, and wants to be fulfilled and to make a difference with their life. The question is this: What’s the foundation for finding a fulfilling life that makes a difference?

Solomon spends the first 11 chapters of the book exploring and rejecting everything that most people try to find fulfillment in today:

- Sex

- Money

- Pleasure

- Power

- Fame

- Job

When he gets to the end of his life-long search, here’s what he wants to say to you:

Ecclesiastes 12:1 ¶ Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth. Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them.”

2 While the sun and the light, The moon and the stars, Are not darkened, And the clouds do not return after the rain;

3 In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, And the strong men bow down; When the grinders cease because they are few, And those that look through the windows grow dim;

4 When the doors are shut in the streets, And the sound of grinding is low; When one rises up at the sound of a bird, And all the daughters of music are brought low;

5 Also they are afraid of height, And of terrors in the way; When the almond tree blossoms, The grasshopper is a burden, And desire fails.

The key word here: _____PRIORITIES____: What you put __FIRST_____.

Simple test for measuring your priorities:

1. If I had only one month to live, how would my life change?

2. How is that different from how I’m living now?

3. What priorities does my life reflect today?

Priorities have a lot to do with how effective you are in your life at getting what you want.

The point of the guy digging ditches story: Working hard without the __________ priorities will only get you ________ and _______________!

Two specific ways in which you need to make God your priority:

1. Make God your priority ___________. “In the days of your youth. . .”

The point is: Put a priority on God and his plan ____________.

If it’s too late to do it when you are young, then do it ___________.

2. Make God your priority in your ____________ _______. “Fear God and keep his commandments.”

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.”

A lot of people want to change their life. The problem is they don’t want to change their ____________ - what they put __________.

You’ll never change your life until you change something you do _______________!

An old recipe for rabbit stew goes like this: “First, catch the rabbit.” In the same way, if you want fulfillment, there’s something you’ve got to put first.

Next week: How to order your priorities to achieve maximum fulfillment & satisfaction from life.