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Facing Life's Inescapable Reality Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 Ecclesiastes, Part 15 Actor Charlie Sheen paid $6,537.50 to buy 2,615 seats in the leftfield bleachers at a California Angels baseball game. Why? So he and three of his friends could sit all by themselves and catch a homerun ball! Did he do it? No. For all that money, all he caught that night was the air. No one hit a home run in their direction. In our day and age of terrorism and even all the recent natural disasters like hurricanes, the uncertainty of life and the reality of death is unavoidable. 1. Realize God's Sovereignty over death, v.1-6 Solomon has often referred to death in Ecclesiastes. Review the following
verses: Ecclesiastes 9:1 shows us that we are all in God's mighty, sovereign hand. What does Solomon observe about the living who know they must die? Even though we all face the mystery of death, it does not lead men to do right and sin not. There is still evil and madness raging in man's heart. Many often lives by the motto: Eat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow we must die. 2. Rejoice in the Time Remaining, v.7-10 We are reminded in these verses to enjoy our meals, our daily events, our marriages, and our work. A. Live happily wherever you are (v.7). We do not have to wait for ideal circumstances to enjoy life. B. Walk in purity and in the power of God's Spirit (v.8). Clean garments and the head anointed with ointment have a spiritual meaning as well as a physical. C. Enjoy your marriage; it's the best one you will ever have! (v.9). D. Live heartily each day (v.10). This verse reminds me of Ephesians 6:7 and Colossians 3:23. We are to be energetic about our daily life, doing God's will from the heart. 3. Remember certain things are out of our control, v.11-18 Here are some objective conclusions about life under the sun: A. Human ability does not guarantee success, v.11,12 Life holds no guarantees: "time and chance happeneth to them all" (v.11). A person with strength may not win the battle. The fastest person may not win the race that day. Our abilities and talents do not deliver us from all of life's dangers. Verse 12 reminds us that just as a bird or a fish are snared unaware, life is full of landmines that can result in evil suddenly happening to us. "So are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them" (v.12b). B. Strength is more impressive but less effective than wisdom, v.13-16a. Ask, how would you summarize each of the following verses? C. Wisdom is never popular and usually forgotten, v.16b. D. The world yells loudly, but wisdom in quietness has greater impact than the headlines in the New York Times, v.17 E. Constructive words of wisdom are better than weapons of war, v.18 |