April 29, 2018 | Bob Bartlett
Passage: Ecclesiastes 4:1
“The Strand that Stands the Test of Time” Ecclesiastes 4:1-16
Vs 1: “Again, I looked and I saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun.”
What does it mean to forewarn someone? To warn someone in advance of a great danger
- The great danger in making wrong choices...
- The great reward in making right choices...
What’s really at stake with the choices I make?
A m life. I missed God's purpose for my life...‘regret’
A m life. I lived God’s purposes for my life...‘reward’
The world’s three-chord strand:
Vs 1-3: The Drive for Power: “power was on the side of the oppressor”
- God’s judgment: on those driven for power: “they have no comforter”
Vs 4-6: The Drive for Prestige: “all labor and achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor”
- God’s judgment: on those driven for prestige: “a chasing after the wind”
Vs 7-8: The Drive for Privilege: “his eyes were not content with his wealth”
- God’s judgment: on those driven for privilege “a miserable business”
The end of this three strand cord…Vs 8 “there was a man all alone”
- Jesus (Luke 12:20) “This very night your life will be demanded from you.”
God’s three cord strand: Vs 9-15 “A cord of 3 strands…”
Vs 9-12 “two are better than one…his friend can help him up…”
- Be committed to relationships that draw me c to God. 1Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be misled; bad company corrupts good character.”
- Commit to Christ’s church: body, family, army ‘to all who are doing business for God’
- Intentional to build: relationships that strengthen my resolve to follow God.
Proverbs 13:20
Vs 13-14 “an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning”
- Be committed to ever s teachable and humble. Proverbs 15:31 “Whoever heeds a life giving correction will be at home among the wise.”
- A person who A.C.T.’s the rest of their life.
- Intentional to belong: in a community where people will speak truth into my life.
Psalm 141:5
Vs 15-16 “all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth…”
- Be committed to f (mature) godly examples. 1Corinthians 11:1 “Follow my example as I follow the example of Jesus Christ.”
- Find a few Bible heroes and some contemporaries; learn their ‘secrets’ and imitate
their lives!
- Purpose to live an imitate (able) life as Jesus; ‘be the example – set the example’
The commitment to God’s three strand cord will ensure I do not miss the meaning and purpose of life.