INTRODUCTION:<\/p>\n
A. It has been said, “Happiness is neither within us only, or without us; it is the union of ourselves with God.”<\/p>\n
B. “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.”<\/p>\n
C. These are some of the things that Solomon will be addressing in Ecclesiastes 6.<\/p>\n
DISCUSSION:<\/p>\n
A. THE VANITY OF RICHES WITHOUT USE<\/p>\n
1. Ecclesiastes 6:1-2<\/p>\n
2. Solomon had just discussed that the power to enjoy the blessings of this life are a gift from God.<\/p>\n
a. Ecclesiastes 5:18-20<\/p>\n
b. Solomon is now going to consider the opposite case.<\/p>\n
3. A man may possess many earthly goods, and yet not enjoy them.<\/p>\n
a. Possession and enjoyment are not necessarily joined together; and Solomon says this is also among the vanities of life.<\/p>\n
b. It is important to remember, that the power both to enjoy and have earthly blessings are both a gift from God.<\/p>\n
c. The true enjoyment of life lies not in the abundance of outward goods, but rather in a cheerful and contented spirit.<\/p>\n
4. Ecclesiastes 5:13<\/p>\n
a. Could it be that much of our lack of contentment with what we have stems from our refusal to share our blessings.<\/p>\n
b. Acts 20:35<\/p>\n
B. THE VANITY OF RICHES WITHOUT ENJOYMENT<\/p>\n
1. Ecclesiastes 6:3-6<\/p>\n
2. It matters little if one lives long and has a hundred children unless one is able to be satisfied (a gift which God gives), he is worse off than a still-born child – lifeless.<\/p>\n
3. There are some who hoard their money so much that they would even refuse to use it in their own burial- a miser.<\/p>\n
a. It was dishonorable for one not to be buried.<\/p>\n
b. Solomon is saying that it is better for a person never to have lived than to have no burial.<\/p>\n
c. I am reminded of the rich fool who tore down his barns to build greater one – only to hoard his wealth.<\/p>\n
d. Great enjoyment in life comes from helping others.<\/p>\n
1) When we are blessed, it is a blessing to share the blessings with others.<\/p>\n
2) Remember the joy you feel at Christmas when you see you children’s faces light up because of that very special gift they received?<\/p>\n
3) This lack of joy is what Solomon is talking about.<\/p>\n
4. We are to enjoy the blessings of this life, and Solomon says that long life (even 4,000 years) void of joy is no better of than a child that dies at birth.<\/p>\n
5. Men have been seen that have great wealth, and yet, were denied the pleasure of enjoying them. Therefore, it can be concluded that wealth cannot secure happiness.<\/p>\n
C. RICHES IN AND OF THEMSELVES CANNOT SATISFY THE SOUL<\/p>\n
1. Ecclesiastes 6:7-9<\/p>\n
2. A man’s body might be filled, but that is not what fills the soul.<\/p>\n
a. Man’s desire is never able to be fully satisfied.<\/p>\n
b. Man never gains his wish completely which fortifies the conclusion that man’s happiness is not in his own power – it is not found in mere wealth.<\/p>\n
3. For self preservation and enjoyment – eating and drinking are proper uses of earthly blessings, and yet, our appetite is never filled.<\/p>\n
a. If we are living for our wealth, our wants will never be filled.<\/p>\n
b. If life consists of only feeding the body, to the neglect of the soul, then man will feel the hopelessness of never truly being satisfied.<\/p>\n
4. If man is never truly satisfied, then what true and lasting advantage does the rich have over the poor?<\/p>\n
5. Solomon also says it is better to enjoy the present than to feed one’s self with vain desires of the future.<\/p>\n
a. In other words, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”<\/p>\n
b. It is better to be content with what you see, than to wander after for what you desire.<\/p>\n
6. Again, true and lasting happiness is not found in the physical.<\/p>\n
D. RICHES REALLY CAN’T CHANGE THINGS<\/p>\n
1. Ecclesiastes 6:10-11<\/p>\n
2. We are a mere “man”, and cannot contend with God.<\/p>\n
a. Man is frail and weak, and occupies a world subject to the sovereign appointment of God.<\/p>\n
b. Man is unable to change what God has placed in order, namely that riches do not bring lasting happiness.<\/p>\n
c. Riches are not the things that truly make man better, they only increase vanity.<\/p>\n
3. Solomon lays down his conclusion which he had undertaken to prove – There be many things that increase vanity.<\/p>\n
a. The life of man is vain, at the best, and there are abundance of accidents that concur to make it more so.<\/p>\n
b. Even that which pretends to increase joy is vanity.<\/p>\n
E. THE ANSWER TO LIFE IS NOT FOUND IN STRIVING AFTER RICHES<\/p>\n
1. Ecclesiastes 6:12<\/p>\n
2. Solomon now draws some inferences from what he has been saying in this chapter, which serve further to evince the truth of his statements:<\/p>\n
a. That a man is never the nearer to true happiness for the abundance that he has in this world: What is man the better for his wealth and pleasure, his honour and preferment?<\/p>\n
b. We do not know what to wish for, because that which we promise ourselves will provide satisfaction often proves most troubling to us:<\/p>\n
1) Who really knows what is good for a man in this life, where every thing is vanity?<\/p>\n
2) We want to do what is best – but we do not always know what is best.<\/p>\n
3) A little child may cry for a knife – not knowing what is best for them.<\/p>\n
c. Our expectations from this world are as uncertain and deceitful as our enjoyments are.<\/p>\n
CONCLUSION:<\/p>\n
A. In asking questions like…<\/p>\n
a. “For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow?” (6:12a)<\/p>\n
b. “Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?” (6:12b)<\/p>\n
c. Solomon illustrates the vanity of looking to riches for the answers.<\/p>\n
B. Indeed, the answers are to be found by turning to God – not riches.<\/p>\n
C. Ecclesiastes tells us that the answers to life are not found in the things of this life.<\/p>\n
D. Solomon has informed us that:<\/p>\n
1. Wealth cannot secure happiness.<\/p>\n
2. Man’s desires cannot be satisfied.<\/p>\n
3. We cannot know or control our future.<\/p>\n
E. Therefore, again, Ecclesiastes 12:13.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
INTRODUCTION: A. It has been said, “Happiness is neither within us only, or without us; it is the union of ourselves with God.” B. “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” C. These are some of the things that Solomon will be addressing in Ecclesiastes 6. DISCUSSION: … Continue reading “The True Meaning to Life #7. A Study in Ecclesiastes – Bible Outlines”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43723\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}