Ecclesiastes 9:1-6 Manuscript (I delivered this in 2004 in my Communication of Biblical Truth class at Moody)

Central Proposition: We will all soon die and be forgotten and must find meaning in life by serving God. Introduction: A. High School ministry at Life Care Center in Coeur d’ Alene. As some of you already know, I went to a Christian School for high school. When I was a sophomore, one of my teachers made us visit a nursing home every week. I wasn’t really excited about it at the time, but now I see that you can learn a lot from older people. Anyway, a few other girls and I were assigned to go to Life Care Center in Coeur d’ Alene to play Scrabble with a sweet little old lady. One week she had already gone out for the afternoon when we got there, so we asked the nursing home staff if there was anyone else we could visit. They directed us down to hall to a room where we met another little old lady. I don’t actually remember her name, so I’ll call her Freda. While Freda was really happy to have someone to talk to, she was an extremely bitter women. She told us about how she had started her career as an actor and singer, and how she had know big names like Audrey Hepburn. But, not long after she started her career, her brother called her up and told her that he had been badly injured in the army. Freda had immediately given up her contract and traveled home to do the proper thing and help nurse him back to health only to get home and find her brother healthy and in one piece. It had been a joke, but a joke that she is still bitter about. After that, she was able to find work singing and playing piano, but she was soon in a couple of accidents that injured her fingers so that she could no longer even play the piano. She had also been married and twice, but each of her husbands had been “good for nothing” losers that she had divorced. In Freda’s opinion, everything in her life had been a great mistake. She had nothing but regrets. Her life had been meaningless. B. Solomon’s quest to find meaning in life: Now there was another person, a man, who had everything. So far, most of the things in his life had gone very well. He had fame, unlimited wealth, beautiful wives, children, and servants. He’d even directed the construction of many spectacular buildings that he could look at and say, “This is what I’ve done in my life!” He indulged in everything he wanted and was sought after for wisdom. He’d never given up his position because of a practical joke, or been prevented from doing great works because of injuries. But, as he began to get older, he too looked back on life, and, like Freda, said that his great accomplishments were meaningless, empty. This man, as I’m sure you already know, was King Solomon. Solomon searched hard to find the meaning of life, and ended up writing some very simple, yet profound, conclusions. Let’s turn to Ecclesiastes 9:3-6. Think about what Solomon is saying as we read: This is an evil in all that is done under the son, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the son. Solomon is saying that life is short. We will soon die and be forgotten about. In one sense, this is a very simple idea. Of course everyone is going to die. But at the same time it is very profound because it’s so difficult for us, as humans, to see that there is anything except for this life. For us as Christians, this realization requires three specific actions on our part. I. The first action that we need to take is to remember the unsaved. Many people have no hope after death. Lets look back at verses three and four. Solomon wrote: This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. Some people have no hope after death because they don’t know Christ. A. There’s a big danger that we as Christians will neglect the unsaved. I read an insightful comment on this in the book Living in Light of Eternity which was written by the founder of Gospel for Asia. It warns: All believers who have already committed their lives to reaching the world with the Gospel are in danger of loosing their focus. When emotions are down and times are difficult, it is easy to focus on self and want out of the battle. [Satan] wants to get us so wrapped up in who we are and what we are doing day to day that we are no longer able to answer the questions Why am I here? And What am I living for? B. I’ll read you a modern day parable of how this happens: On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occurred, there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat; but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea. And with no thought for themselves, they went out day and night, tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were saved and various others in the surrounding area wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought, and new crews were trained. The little lifesaving station grew. Some of the members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge for those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. The lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they decorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely, because they used it as a sort of a club. Fewer members were now interested in going out to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do the work. About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet, and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick, and got stains on the new carpet and furniture. The beautiful club was in chaos. So the property committee immediately had a shower built outside the club, where the victims could be cleaned up before coming inside. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that seacoast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown. As this parable indicates, we become so sidetracked by the comforts we have that we forget our mission in life as Christians. II. The second action we need to take is to remember ourselves. We will also die. This life is our only opportunity to gain eternal rewards. Lets look back at Ecclesiastes 9:5. Solomon wrote, “For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.” A. Jesus spoke about a similar idea in the New Testament in John 9:4 when he said, “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.” B. If Freda had lived her life working the works of God rather than working for fame and worldly ambitions, it is very likely that she would have suffered as many disappointments and difficult circumstances as she did. The difference would be that she would have suffered with meaning. She would have gained meaning and joy in life through her suffering and the hope of the rewards she would have waiting for her because of suffering for Christ. But as it is, she is ending her life as a bitter old lady. C. This also reminds me of Matthew 16:25 where Jesus warns, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” III. The third action that we must take is to put our distractions into their place. I know that I easily get distracted from my mission in life, and I believe the key to putting these distractions into place is found in verse six of this passage. It states, “Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.” Solomon says that the love, hate, and envy of the dead is long forgotten. Our own love, hate, and envy will also be forgotten. We love pleasure, entertainment, friends, acceptance, and approval; we hate various behaviors, certain theologies, and sometimes even other people; we envy each other’s cars, clothes, popularity, and income. As with the modern day parable of the church, we become distracted by worldly comforts and ambitions. To put these into their place, we need to remember that in a short time, these things will not matter to us anymore. A. In speaking of discipleship, Luke 14:33 explains, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” I believe that if we truly renounce all these things that we have that distract us, then these things will not be able to control us any longer. Conclusion: A. Let’s remember the three actions that we should take in light of the fact that all will die and be forgotten: remember the unsaved, remember ourselves, and remember to put our distractions into their place. B. Take time today, this week, and for the rest of your lives to sit down and contemplate which of your ambitions will really matter after you die. There are many things that seem important now, but every day we must ask ourselves how important that new car, that higher paying job, that financial stability, the acceptance of a friend will seem after we’ve died. And compare these worldly ambitions to the Christ centered ambitions that you have. For example, if it’s your ambition to give more to missions, imagine giving an extra two dollars to buy a Bible to send to a third world country, and the joy you will have of meeting the person who read it and came to know Christ because of it. Imagine living a life of service and perseverance for God, and of seeing your huge mansion, your numerous rewards, and Christ your savior standing there and saying, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”