Sermon Central
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Too Good! Series
Contributed by C. Philip Green on Apr 15, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: If you want to find real joy in the face of an uncertain future, renounce your own good and wise deeds; stop devising your own schemes. Instead, fear God and please Him through faith in His Son.
On March 19, 2003, the United States and its allies invaded Iraq to destroy Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and remove Saddam Hussein from power. A day later, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld held a news conference, where a reporter asked him “about the apparent failure to follow the war plan.”
Rumsfeld replied dryly, “I don't believe you have the war plan” (Steve Johnson, “Little Things' Add Up to Jumpy, But Compelling, News Coverage," Chicago Tribune, 3-21-03; www.PreachingToday.com).
People often approach God the same way. When life goes off the rails in an unexpected direction, they question God, “Why don’t you follow the plan?” To which God replies, “I don't believe you have the plan.”
Only God has the plan. Everybody else is clueless. We saw it last week in Ecclesiastes 7:14—"In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.”
You don’t know the future, so how do you find joy in the face of uncertainty? How do you smile today when tomorrow may surprise you? How do you rejoice now when the future may disappoint you? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Ecclesiastes 7, Ecclesiastes 7, where the Bible answers that question.
Ecclesiastes 7:15 In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing (ESV).
Some people think that God will bless them if they are righteous and curse them if they are wicked. But that’s not the way life works. Sometimes, God cuts the life of the righteous short and prolongs the life of the wicked for His own reasons. So…
Ecclesiastes 7:16 Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? (ESV)
Don’t kill yourself trying to earn God’s favor in your own self effort. For, to earn God’s favor, you must obey ALL the laws of God, ALL 613 of them.
Deuteronomy 28 says, “If you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do ALL his commandments… the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth… But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do ALL his commandments and his statutes… then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you (Deuteronomy 28:1, 15).
In fact, James 2 says, “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it” (James 2:10).
You have to keep ALL of God’s commandments to earn His favor, but that’s impossible. You’ll just kill yourself if you try, so stay out of that game.
Avoid the trap of legalism. Stay away from attempting to earn God’s favor in your own self effort through good works. Or as Solomon puts it here, “Be not overly righteous.” On the other hand…
Ecclesiastes 7:17 Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? (ESV)
Be not overly righteous and be not overly wicked, either. Stay away from trying to keep the law in your own self effort—that’s legalism.
On the other hand, avoid the trap of license, too! Keep from ignoring the law altogether, because both extremes will kill you!
The Lego Movie explores the difference between legalism and license, with the cold-hearted “President Business” and his Octan Energy Corporation representing legalism. Under his iron-fist rule, everyone follows the instructions at home and work, enforced by cheery “I've got my eye on you!” ads and surveillance cameras. The "Master Builders" are President Business' greatest threat. They refuse to slavishly follow senseless rules, a crime that gets them locked up by President Business.
But the film also shows the other extreme from legalism—license. One of the movie's heroes, a former rule-following construction worker-legalist named Emmet, lands in Cloud Cuckoo Land, a place without any rules or laws to follow. Take a look (show The Lego Movie: Cloud Cuckoo Land Clip).
As Emmet approaches Cloud Cuckoo Land, he watches a horde of Legos dancing, whirling, and partying to loud music. “O-kaaay …” Emmet says, taking it all in. “I'm just going to come right out … I have no idea what's going on or what this place is at all.”
Suddenly a cute unicorn-kitten hybrid bounces up to Emmet and yells, “Hiiiii! I am Princess UniKitty, and I welcome you all to Cloud Cuckoo Land!” As Emmet watches the unrestricted partying, he says, “So there are no signs on anything. How does anyone know what not to do?”
